


Galactic Mosaic

by JujuPlumb



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben loves Rey, Bendemption, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Childbirth, Complete, Darkish Rey, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fantasy, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Ghost(s), Happy Ending, Mention Of EU Characters, Mild Smut, Original Character(s), POV Kylo Ren, POV Rey (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Pre-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Pregnancy, Pregnant Rey (Star Wars), Redeemed Ben Solo, Resurrection, Rey Hates Kylo Ren, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo Baby, Sexual Content, Slight Canon Divergence, Some Legends Lore, Some Smuff, Soulmates, The Force Has Absolute Power, complicated relationship, rey loves ben, slowish burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2020-03-08 16:41:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18898573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JujuPlumb/pseuds/JujuPlumb
Summary: He hadn’t seen her for almost five months except through stolen glimpses of the bond.Rey had studied those damned Jedi texts and learned to shield herself from him.So now he could only hear and feel her, but she could see him.*Complete*





	1. Seek and Protect

**Author's Note:**

> ***Graphic Violence Ahead***  
> Please read at your own risk...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I first wrote this fic in 2019 but will be reposting it periodically in service of those, including myself who are still coping with the aftermath of TROS)
> 
> *Stay on the Reylo-coaster*

The sonorous hum of an approaching long range cruiser puts Kylo Ren on edge.

They will execute her,if he doesn’t get there first!

 

Fear,determination and danger bleed through the bond with ferocity, he knows he’s close to finding her but he has to stay on track.

He needs to stay focused and connected to her erratic force signature.

 

He discards his cape and repaired metal helmet; ripping them away from him and leaving them for the red sands to devour.

 Breathing heavily, his grip tightens on his crossguard. He coughs the chalky air out his lungs as he leans against the weather beaten boulder of a tomb.

His next concentrated effort will take him far deeper into the coarse wasteland of Moraband.

 

The sentient guardians of the Sith were only a scattered remnant but he knew he still had to move by stealth to elude these tutelar cenobites.

Using the Force by way of echo-location was a new skill he recently acquired, it would serve him well as he ventured further into the underground catacombs.

 

Kylo hunches into the mouth of the pitch black cavern only hearing the controlled pad of his own footfalls.

There were two Dathomirian souls on the Valcyn spacecraft, and they must have entered through the eastern quadrant of the cave system.

He senses nervous energy moving up ahead...it isn’t Rey.

 

He presses on surreptitiously, grazing the jagged walls as arthropods crunch underfoot.

Claws and fangs crawl up his boot in a meandrous quest...

He kicks off a ravenous desert rat.

This place is teeming with them!

He listens as they skitter about, no doubt prowling for prey.

 

The carnivorous rodents of Moraband were almost as notorious as its heralded Sith Lords.

 

He ignites his saber and slashes his way through them and treads on into another dark tunnel.

 

 

\-----

 

Kylo tries to push past Rey’s shields to alert her of his arrival—to reassure her he’s only there to help.

But the darkness encroaching on them exacerbates his attempts.

The dark side is strong on this desolate planet of sand and stone.

 

It broods like a venomous omen, slithering diabolically for access.

 

If he could go back in time, there’s so much he would change, he was so careless with her, taking her for granted.

 

He wishes that he saved more of the Resistance Fleet when he had a chance...when she pleaded with him. But he did not and he only has himself to blame.

 

 _It would have been easier to protect her if she was with him_ —is the excuse he uses most to bring himself comfort.

 

He should have done it for her...then maybe she might have stayed with him.

 

He’s spiralling into despair again, he shakes it off...

 

Kylo narrowly misses two menacing sinkholes when he hears the  roar of a waterfall ahead.

Through the din of crashing water, Zabrak voices are heard in the distance.

 

It’s the twins. He’s sure of it!

 

Using the Force to hold his cloaking shield up, he steals across an arched bridge—minding the perilous erosion as he leaps to safety.

 

He takes refuge behind a carved monolith.

 

A malevolent image he recognizes as Darth Bane is engraved into its serrated surface.

 

He freezes.

 

The voices cease.

 

Although he senses three souls, he can’t see anything.

 

Kylo and Malak had a confrontation years ago when he was still a Jedi Padawan.

Malak’s sister Chan however, was not force sensitive and looked more human than her brother.

 

It was told that she resembled her mother Qi’ra in both appearance and wit.

 

 

AHHHHH!!!

A battle cry shrieks through the cave as a heavily robed figure leaps from a ragged ledge.

 

The bond surges with adrenaline as Rey lands between them.

She takes a defensive stance against the twins who advance on her immediately.

 

She spins in a blur of red and blue as her saberstaff whips a blistering inferno.

 

Kylo charges toward the trio blocking a down swing from Malak over Rey’s head.

 

She isn’t surprised to see him. The force bond swells with their combined energy.

 

Chan flips and twirls out of striking distance avoiding Rey’s vicious upswing.

 

Malak is quick, the dexterous acrobatic skill of the Mauls is legendary throughout the galaxy. He steadies the curved hilt in his palm, aiming it with murderous intention.

 

He slices Kylo’s shoulder with the saber and kicks him in the stomach, crouching then spinning out of the way.

 

Spitting blood, Kylo staggers back glaring at Malak with contempt.

 

They had been hunting Rey for months in search of Luke’s compass , necklace and other aquired artifacts she had collected.

 

They wanted to kill her for it! Bloody Sith!

 

He didn’t fully understand what power the relics held but he knew it was of great significance to The Sith.

 

Chan’s blaster bolts fires at Rey but she deflects it, sending it hurtling back with the Force.

 

Chan ducks but it sears straight through her armorweave, scorching burns into the flesh of her back.

 

She cries out in agony.

 

“Sister!” Malak screams, turning towards her, anguish dragging his red face.

 

 

Kylo uses the opening to swoop in, slicing him in half with his crimson blade and disemboweling Malak without a hint of contrition.

 

Malak’s torso slumps to the ground in a gory heap of charred sinews and bone.

 

Kylo decapitates him instantly, not trusting The Maul’s unusual force ability of regeneration.

 

Enraged from the death of her twin, Chan rallies, using the cave walls as a springboard to heave herself above Rey.

 

Rey’s movements are suddenly sluggish and cumbersome and Kylo is concerned.

 

Distracted by Malak’s termination, he watches helplessly as blaster fire throws Rey to the ground.

 

From a prone position, Rey heaves her laserstaff like a javelin, spearing Chan through the head.

 

It impales her on impact... She twitches lifelessly.

 

Rey calls the saberstaff back to her groaning in pain.

She wheezes while clutching her chest.

 

Kylo races to her, supporting her head with his hand.

 

“Rey!” he cries out in horror.

 

Her yellow eyes close as she slips into darkness.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo senses the sapient guards advancing through the caves.

 

He has to get Rey back to his shuttle for medical care urgently.

 

He swoops her up in his arms and sprints back the way he came.

 

He glances down at her as he runs, to ensure she's still breathing. She is but with irregular pauses.

 

Kylo grits his teeth, as blood stains over her left chest, weep through the fabric of the grey robes.

 

He hadn’t seen her for almost five months except through stolen glimpses of the bond.

 

Rey had studied those damned Jedi texts and learned to shield herself from him.

 

So now he could only hear and feel her, but she could see him.

 

He stomps up the ramp of the shuttle like a madman and summons an emergency medical-orb.

 

It undulates toward them out of its spherical casing in the durasteel panel.

 

Rey’s robes are soaked through with blood and her breathing is becoming shallow.

 

Kylo panics, his trembling hands peel off the thick layers in a manic frenzy.

 

“Rey?” he begs. “Please...please hold on.”

 

He has to get to the wound site but he can’t focus enough to check her vitals.

 

Damn it! She’s weakening, he can feel it through their bond!

 

“Please don’t leave me Rey. I...I’ll die without you.” He can’t lose her too... not after Leia.

 

He rips off her top robe and then the unusual mid tunic beneath it.

 

It’s wrapped tightly around her midriff, reinforced with extra bindings as if to lend support.

 

Kylo examines it quizzically, stripping it away as quickly as he can.

 

 

What he finds under it shocks him…

 

 

Under the last layer of bindings a very pregnant stomach greets him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I made a twitter. Come Say [Hi](https://twitter.com/JujuPlumb)


	2. Heart and Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***Warning Graphic Violence/Suicide***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title "Heart and soul" is inspired by T'Pau's song of the same name.

_He rips off the top robe and then the unusual mid tunic beneath it._

_It’s wrapped tightly around her midriff,reinforced with extra bindings as if to lend support._

_Kylo looks at quizzically, stripping it away as quickly as he can._

_What he finds under it shocks him…_

_Under the layer of bindings a very pregnant stomach greets him._

 

 

\-----

 

 

 

Kylo tried to absorb the implications that this new development represented to his life. But he had to focus on Rey’s well-being first and foremost.

He was baffled that, even in her unconscious state he couldn’t penetrate the shields she barricaded herself behind.

His teeth grinded in frustration that she gave him no entry. His weight shifted from boot to boot as he stared down at her. He desperately needed to know why she allowed the darkness to spur such dramatic changes in her.

More than anything, he also needed to know how she really was.

 

The med-orb’s holo scans were all negative so far. There had been no damage to her heart like he had initially assumed, even though the puncture came within a hair's breadth of it. It was close enough to bruise and cause concerning blood coagulation in the area.

In addition she did suffer from a collapsed lung and broken ribs; the head trauma was relatively mild compared to everything else. She wasn't dire. Not yet.

 

He took a precautionary sigh of relief, but he knew she could still be in danger.

The temporary stent placed in her lung would only last so long before her condition started to deteriorate.

 

He frowned at the realization that she would need surgery. Anaesthia and pregnancy didn't seem complimentary to each other.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The baby however appeared to be completely healthy and doing wonderfully.

When the scan projected the tiny human growing within her, Kylo felt too overwhelmed for words. He watched as his child slept peacefully in the sanctuary of Rey’s womb.

An appendage stuck out of its mouth... When Kylo examined it more closely he realized that the baby was only sucking a thumb. His jaw dropped in awe. He backed away

until he slammed against a  paneled wall listening to the quickened heartbeat. This was all so much...

 

Why would Rey want to hide this beautiful defenseless creation from him?

 

His heart ached for answers.

From where he stood months prior, his future expectations did not include the addition of this precious gift.

He was grateful beyond words...

Grateful to her for carrying his child and grateful to the Force for procuring his legacy.

 

The medical facilities onboard the shuttle were inadequate for the extensive injuries Rey suffered. He fumed at its ineptitude like a spoiled child.

It was only meant for emergencies and not for the intensive or long term care she required.

Coordinates were already set for The Raxus system. He irked at the painstakingly slow crawl  the shuttle took through hyperspace.

Kylo grimaced through the viewport, his face deeply etched with urgency—he had to compose himself, there was nothing he could do to make it go any faster.

 

With Rey’s bleeding finally stabilised and her breathing leveled, Kylo loomed over her watching as color returned to her pallid features.

 

He removed a glove and brushed his long fingers gently along her cheek, inhaling her hypnotic scent of sand and sweat.

If she gave him the chance he could look upon her forever...he would be hers forever.

Kylo glanced down at the soft bump rising and falling under the thermal blanket.

He placed his hand lightly on the curve of her stomach, his fingers splayed and covered it entirely.

The fluttering movements of the life growing inside her squiggled against his hand.

His eyebrows shot up at the wriggling sensation as the baby moved.

 

“Rey, what have we done?” he whispered to himself, guilt ridden.

 

The shuttle emerged into real space and Kylo quickly prepared for landing.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The intrusive arrival of The Supreme Leader at the covert Colosus II garrison sent the stationed troops in a state of panic.

The unpredictability of their leader kept them under constant guarded vigilance. They never knew when he would isolate them to prod their integrity or scrutinize their allegiances.

 

Kylo stayed by Rey’s side as she was rushed to the underground medical center on a hover bed.

A few confused stares from curious personnel were discouraged by Superior officer Leclerc.

 

“Mind your posts!” Leclerc shouted, feigning austerity under Kylo’s glower.

 

Specific instruction concerning the discreet nature of the imperial visit was given ahead of time.

No one except Doctor Roal, a self-conscious green twi’lek was allowed in the medical facility.

 

 

\-----

 

 

 

Surgery had begun and Kylo paced the floors outside the operating room in a nervous frenzy.

He was assured that with the use of the surgical droids the operation would be successful and she would be left unscarred. He had brought her in time and the buffer of their bond gave him some remedial comfort.

The Doctor warned him that watching the surgery was not in his best interest but Kylo insisted.

He didn’t want her out of his sight for a single moment, especially now.

 

 

\-----

 

The events of the last few months weighed heavily on Kylo...

First Rey’s manipulation of the bond had devastated him— not being able to see her tore through the fringes of his soul. And learning of the impending assassination at the eleventh hour had spawned a spiral of emotions that he feared might end him.

 

It took every resource at his disposal to find her in time.

He didn't dare think of what might have happened if he wasn't there...

Tracking the twins and their fiendish plot took his team weeks. He was resolved that there might be repercussions, so a death squad was already assigned to annihilate their remaining collective on Dathomir. 

He grabbed at his hair, pulling it with his gloved hands: he had been so close to losing her.

 

Suddenly, a soothing wave from the Force curled around him, penetrating the hysteria and calming his fears.

 

“Rey?” he questioned, pleadingly.

He peered through the transparisteel at her motionless form being sewn together by microsutures and lathed in potent bacta treatments.

There was no answer.

Again...another wave, stronger than the first pressed through all of the anxiety, bringing a burst of peace and unfiltered love.

He had never felt anything so pure and honest. He welcomed the warmth into his dark crevices—allowing the tiny surge of light to flow through him.

It was too beautiful a thing to fight—so he put up no defense.

His eyes rimmed red and he tried to choke back tears. It was his child trying to comfort him.

 

How could this be?

They were already connected by the Force.

Why didn’t he sense it before?

 

Tears streamed down his face and he did nothing to stop them.

 

 

\-----

 

 

“I’m not leaving until she wakes Dr. Do I make myself clear?” Kylo growled.

 

Dr Roal shuddered bowing incessantly in agreement to his request. “Understood Supreme Leader,” he said, retreating away from Rey’s bed.

 

Something awry about Dr Roal left a troubling feeling in Kylo’s gut, his senses were already on high alert.

 

Roal backpedalled away from Kylo towards the exit of the recovery module.

The gleam of the sith hilt clipped to Kylo’s belt  caught his eye and disdain crawled across his face as he inched out. 

 

All of Kylo’s undivided attention was on Rey as she lay resting, her breathing had improved tremendously.

Thank gods!

She would be ok.

The line between her eyes that deepened on occasion, notably when she was unwillingly placed in his presence, had all but disappeared.

Her sunkissed color had returned and he could sense that she was at peace.

 

 

Exhaustion got the better of him, he hadn’t slept in days. He twisted and turned until he found a comfortable position in the cramped chair.

What better view to soothe him to sleep than that of Rey and his child safe and finally with him.

 

Kylo drifted off...

 

Dr Roal had left the room in haste, leaving medical droids to attend to his recovering patient. They whirred around Rey's bed busy at task. Kylo was unstirred by the monotonous drone of the droids.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Sneaky footsteps jolted Kylo awake from the awkward angle he fell asleep in. He glared up at Dr Roal warily, holding a data pad and checking Rey’s vitals.

 

A tendril of trepidation flowed into him through the Force.

 

“You really should get more rest Sir,” Roal entreated.

 

“When can I move her?” Kylo questioned abruptly, standing and striding toward him.

He sensed that the Dr was doing a lot more than just checking in on a patient.

 

“ _Move her_?” he responded incredulously. “Sir, she shouldn’t be moved for at least two weeks.”

 

“Two Weeks!” Kylo gawked. "But you said that the potency of the bacta treatments worked faster,” he said in quivering disgust.

 

“Supreme Leader, the condition of the girl and the fetus could be greatly compromised if you leave sooner,” he pleaded. “Please reconsider.”

 

“What precisely are you doing?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. Kylo regarded his jumpy fingers, hovering dangerously close to Rey’s stomach.

 

Roal activated a holo diagram of the vivisection in Rey’s lung that was still healing. “Another 48 hours Sir,” he pleaded again.

 

Kylo scratched his head in thought. Something made him feel uneasy about this Doctor with his shifty reptilian  eyes...

 

—In a flash Kylo jumped on him grabbing both lekku demanding access to his memories.

 

Roal thrashed around, flailing his arms helplessly, but he managed to resist Kylo's violent mind probe.

 

Damn it!

Dr Roal was Force sensitive and he hadn’t sensed it before— which infuriated Kylo even more.

 

He squeezed Roal's head until blood oozed out of the twi’lek’s nose—but to no avail.

 

Kylo Force slammed him up against a wall, bursting a lekku open.

 

“Who sent you here?” Kylo snarled, activating his crossguard, his steps eating up the distance between them.

 

“It’s too late for you,” Roal snickered biting his tongue in half and calling the sith saber to his hand.

 

Kylo stood in shock, training his own saber at Roal’s throat, the crackling heat burnt green skin to a crisp.

 

Glops of red-green blood dripped from his mouth and he didn't flinch.

 

“You’re a traitor!” Kylo screamed, forgetting Rey rested mere feet away.

 

Roal shook his head and smirked a toothy grin of sharp teeth.

 

He plunged the sith saber deep into his own chest slumping over... dead.

 

 

\-----

 

 

After pouring over the comprehensive histories of every single staff member posted at the Colosus II, and probing Leclerc, Kylo took momentary respite.

He was somewhat satisfied that such a grave infraction would never be replicated... if he had anything to do with it.

He insisted that Dr Roal’s entire team be quarantined for interrogation...and possible execution.

Dr Roal had clandestine ties to the Sith and had a particular interest in his unborn child. It was the child that sent out an anxious tremor through the Force.

Had the Dr known through Force sensitivity that the baby was indeed his?

 

Kylo dispatched a unit of intel specialists to search every system for every associate Roal ever had: his family would likely be hunted down and terminated as well.

 

Was General Hux aware of this treacherous blunder?

 

What else could that egregious weasel be hiding?

 

Hux had become such an annoying sycophant, bending to his every whim without complaint...It made him sick.

 

Something had to be astir. He had to get to the bottom of this unscrupulous network of lies. Being Supreme Leader meant he trusted no one.

 

With nostrils flared and fists clenched, Kylo guarded the exterior of Rey’s recovery mod. He took intermittent peeks at her as if she would evaporate the moment he let his guard down.

 

His instincts were usually correct, but there were other times when paranoia altered his perception of reality.

 

Was this one of those times?

 

 _It’s too late for you_. The Doctor said.

 

What did that mean?

 

Kylo banged his head against the transparisteel.

 

“No!” Echoed through the empty corridors.

 

He won’t lose it again, he can’t afford to...not now.

He continued banging his head...

 

 

“Ben?” A hoarse voice called...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for taking time to comment...  
> It's like a high five or a pat on the back :)


	3. A Light Beneath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fret Jet is about to take off zoooooooom...

_“Ben?” A hoarse voice called..._

\------

 

 

Kylo whipped his head around, knocked out of his delirium by the unmistakable lilt of Rey’s voice.

 

His Rey was awake!

 

He flew in through the door of the recovery mod and was hunched over her bedside in a blink.

Relieved, he snatched her hand up into his without thinking. One word described the hopeful stare he gave her. Adoration.

Placing a single kiss on the back of her hand, he rubbed it over his cheek with feather light precision—basking in the tender ministration.

 

Rey’s bewildered expression elicited a more practical approach to his attentions.

He tucked a wayward tendril of her hair behind an ear while seeking her Force signature.

Again he was met with an iron wall.

Under the circumstances her resistance to his interference didn’t disappoint him at all.

He was just grateful that she was awake and with him.

 

Strangely one of her hazel irises was still a tawny yellow. He tried to hide his alarm behind a more gentle demeanor.

Utterly oozing with anticipation, he perched on a chair pulling it up until his knees clanged against the protective rail.

 

She looked at Kylo blankly arranging her thoughts in some comprehensible order.

Rey’s eyes left his face as she surveyed the white room in confusion.

Feeling her hand trapped in his much larger one, she twisted it free and gave him a dirty look.

The excitement plastered on his face slid off bleakley and his features immediately hardened.

Why were her eyes filled with such hate for him when all he had for her was his love?

 

“How are you?” he asked, working his jaw in dejection. He straightened up out of his seat and paced the mod with a million and one things battering his mind.

 

He waitied on a response...

 

Kylo watched her hands fall to her stomach, drawing comforting patterns over it.

 

“What happened?” she asked, ignoring the question and avoiding his dark expressive eyes.

He wasn’t sure where to start. He continued to follow her calming circles as he stalked the foot of her bed.

 

He was disappointed. Yes she had awoken...but she obviously didn’t want him anywhere near her.

Becoming belligerent would only make matters worse, he would try to be calm and patient with her as best he could.

 

He slumped back in the chair taking in a deep breath, his leg bounced uncontrollably—fighting nervousness.

 

Reaching for her hand again he implored softly,“Rey, why didn’t you tell me... about the baby?” His eyes tracked between her face and the roundness of her tummy.

 

She stiffened finally meeting his eyes,“why should I tell you anything?” she bit back with a sneer. “He’s not yours!” she barked.

 

Kylo’s mouth dropped open. He felt the blood drain from his head and what felt like a Dreadnought crashed into his chest.

 

Rey is having a son... And it’s **not** his!

 

The turbine in his head was spinning out of control, he felt dizzy and nauseous and needed answers... Now!

 

 

\-----

 

 

“What do you mean _,not mine?_ ” he spat out, standing and throwing the chair into the door shattering it to pieces.

His barely contained fury was building like a tumultuous storm. He stood over her heaving arrhythmic breaths, one hand fingering his hilt.

 

She looked up at him, unmoved by his dramatic reaction.“Why did you come after me?” she deflected.  His predictable display made her agitated and weary.

“Why can’t you leave me alone? You know we don’t work.”

 

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up using a trembling arm. Kylo forgot his anger long enough to see her stagger.

 

“You shouldn’t be up. You...you just had surgery,” he said numbly. Not sure why he still gave a kriff.

 

She fought through the pain, holding her chest and wobbled toward the door.

 

He shot wary glances at her as she went.“Where are my things?” she demanded looking around the bare space. “The compass, where is it?” she shouted, with her pulsing yellow eye.

Rey looked completely deranged as she held onto the foot of the bed for purchase. Losing her breath, she sank back onto the bed gingerly.

 

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your _things_ ,” he spewed in a mocking tone, cursing to himself, tears pricking at his eyes.

 

Kylo glared at her with a precarious mix of contempt and compassion—as she settled on her pillows, exhausted from the effort.

He knew there was little he could do to chase the darkness that was rising in her.

But what she confessed had hurt him to his core...It burned more than any Force lightning ever could...

 

Gods!

 

She betrayed him!

 

 

\-----

 

 

The shadow of a figure stood at attention,“Supreme Leader, your presence is required at Command,” Leclerc announced.

 

Still stewing, Kylo responded curtly, "I’ll be there at 0400 .”

 

The med droid administered a mild sedative that pushed Rey into a quiet slumber.

Watching the swell of her tummy move as she breathed was tearing him apart.

He doesn’t want to leave her alone, not even for a minute but why should he care?

She’s probably carrying the child of that arrogant pilot.

**A scene plays out before him:**

A stubbly face kissing her pert breasts wantonly, as she runs her slender fingers through his thick crop of dark hair.

 

Or even worse...

 

The traitor! The traitor might have had a go...

 

Rey completely unbridled, riding the muscular man while he gazes up on her exquisite body in absolute awe.

 

Kylo keels over and retches at his own sickening imaginings.

 

After a minute he masters himself and wipes his mouth with a sleeve, stomping off.

 

Nearing a turbolift he quakes in anger, his growls of frustration echoing through the dull underground corridors.

The sounds of his own madness pushes him closer to the brink of no return.

The thought of anyone touching her like that other than him is driving him insane.

He bites down on his lip hard until blood spurts from it.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo’s bootsteps slap across the tiled floor as he trudges toward the command center.

 

As soon as she is well enough he’ll send her on her way and he’ll return to his new flagship...

But that’s only if he doesn’t kill her first.

He won’t search for her again, it’s for the best.

His heart aches.

Force!

He still loves her, even if she’s carrying someone else's child.

He feels like he’s going to explode, he’s a walking proton bomb of contradiction.

 

**AAAAARHH!!!**

 

His screams cut through the silence as  he activates his saber and slashes through the walls of the ascending turbolift.

He slashes and screams—and screams and slashes as smelted debris from the destroyed durasteel fall in embers over and around him.

Kylo knows his tortured screams have probably reached the command center and he doesn’t care.

Why Should he care?

 

An arresting thought enters his mind...

 

He should **kill** everyone in there.

They don’t deserve to live their perfect lives while he suffers.

 

The tension evaporates suddenly as a wave of peace lulls around him. His—no, _not his_...the child is reaching out to him again, but why?

Why does he have a connection to this child— _this_ child that isn’t his?

 

His memory takes him back to the time he thought _their_ child might have been conceived.

 

To the second time that he and Rey joined passionately, declaring their love for each other with their bodies and their hearts.

 

 

\-----

 

 

**_Seven months ago:_ **

 

_On the oceanic planet of Dorumaa their lightsabers clashed, blazing heat and smoke with violent intensity._

_Crimson red and sapphire blue battled in a visceral dance of synchronicity._

 

_She accused him of killing her friends and misleading her trust, and he accused her of intergalactic treason._

 

_“How could you plot to kill me? Rey,I trusted you!” he screamed over the deluge of wind, rain and crashing waves._

_“You are the murderer, not I,”she spat, continuing her brutal attack._

 

_Her saber grazed his head and face several times as she tightened her grip._

 

_“We’re in a war...people die,” he shouted, blocking the onslaught from her enhanced saber._

 

_Her boots slipped on the wet surface of the rocks underneath, and she fell into the shallow water losing her saber._

_In an instant the saber was back in her hand —she used the Force to steady herself into a defensive stance...but his crackling laser was already spitting at her throat._

 

_His dark eyes pierced straight through her soul and body._

_“Do it! Kill me!” she provoked, swallowing hard. “I really don’t care anymore.”_

 

_The reflection of his red laser flared in her hazel eyes like angry fire._

 

_Tears welled and spilled over and she remained motionless...waiting for his fatal strike._

_Kylo extinguished his laser, clipping the hilt to his belt and he took a step closer. “I care,” he said, capturing her eyes with his longing._

 

_The fierce wind howled and whistled around them._

_He leaned in tilting his head down and placed his lips over hers._

_Her eyes widened and she twined her hands around his neck-pulling him in._

_His hot tongue licked at her lips demanding access-- she hesitated unsure what to do then finally opened wide enough for his tongue to plunge in._

_She followed his lead. Their wet noses rubbed as they continued to kiss deeply-hungrily. He eased his mouth from hers, a string of saliva still connecting them._

_“We should go,” he said, sucking on her earlobe.“A storm is coming.”_

 

_Their bodies ached for more of each other. The culmination of almost a year of excruciating yearning was at the precipice..._

 

 

_\-----_

 

 

_They took shelter from the storm in his command shuttle._

_He had stripped down to  his short black tights and she  wore only thin breast bands and underthings._

_Their wet clothes were strewn over the leather seats in the cockpit._

_He sat on a blanket reaching his hand up for her, she took it and he coaxed her next to him._

_“Maybe I should go,” she whispered shyly, covering her chest with an arm._

 

_“No, please don’t go,” he pleaded, taking her other hand and tugging her onto his lap._

_He stroked her hair and  planted soft kisses over her neck and cheeks. His nose rubbed behind her ear, the scent of rain lingering._

_Rey melted into his touch, losing her fingers in his soft hair._

_He closed his eyes, crooking his neck just so, feeling the pads of her fingers rubbing over his scalp..._

 

_Then, she stiffened, feeling an aggressive hardness poking at her abdomen._

_She shot up to her feet, eyeing the prominent bulge facing her._

 

_“I—this.—we shouldn’t do this,” she shook her head and turned her back on him, wrapping both arms tightly around herself._

 

_“We did this before Rey,” he soothed, embracing her from behind and kissing her unraveled hair softly._

_“But that was only through the bond,” she protested. His arms fell from around her body._

_He was hurt by her admission, as if their first time together meant nothing to her._

_It was sacred to him and he treasured every moment of it._

_“If the first time we joined together meant nothing to you, then you’re free to leave.” his tone was final but uncertainty played across his face._

_He held on to her hand, rubbing small circles with a thumb._

 

_She met his eyes slowly, tears welling again._

_“It meant everything to me Ben, it was my first time...you know that,” she whimpered._

_He nodded, remembering their glorious coupling across the stars._

_She pulled him into a kiss, her tongue demanding the access this time. He gave no resistance, deepening it--their hands went everywhere  all at once._

_Rey unreeled him, yanking his tights down and he ripped off her bands and underthings. Like a heat seeking missile, his heavy shaft sought her dripping center._

_Before they knew it they were both moving in a blinding rhythm of give and take-molded together by their combined slippery heat. Rey groaned through the pain of her second filling--her walls stretching more to contain him--reaching higher towards her pleasure's release. He followed shortly thereafter grunting as he spurted his seed high within her._

_The viewport of his shuttle was heavily fogged with the steam from their sweltering lovemaking._

 

_“I love you,” he gasped into her ear._

_\-----_

Kylo’s memory washed away like a lost tide and he was jerked back to the present... back to the agony of Rey’s rejection and betrayal. He shoved away the woeful tears that snuck down his cheeks.

He left the blazing scars of his anger behind on the walls of the turbo lift and stormed into the command center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can Kylo hold it together long enough to actually figure things out?


	4. Battle of Wills

Rey propped herself up on her elbows and poked at a bruised patch of skin where the I.V. was removed.

She shot an approving eye at the med-droid as it tottered away and out of the recovery module.

Somewhat rejuvenated, she threw her bare legs over the side of the bed and gave the mod a thorough scan. She gently patted her tummy, the baby was asleep but his slight weight pressed down on her full bladder.

The refresher door was cracked as if someone had used it moments ago. She shuffled in the sterile space— starting at her own reflection in the mirror. She was too thin and her buns were a matted frizzy mess. She shielded her traitorous eyes with a hand, she couldn't bear the truth that they held behind them. That she was weak.

After taking a considerable amount of time in the shower, she returned to the room wearing a disposable med-gown.

 

The broken chair had been replaced by a newer more ergonomic one.

Resting on the chair were her freshly laundered garments, placed on top of them was her faithful satchel.

She raised an  eyebrow as she reached for the threadbare rucksack.

Fingers disappeared into the bag and she fished out her effects, lining them up on the bed next to her.

The absence of her saberstaff encouraged a huff of angry air out of her nose.

Where was it?

To Rey’s annoyance, a service droid beeped it’s arrival. 

Her attention was still captured by the sith amulet and it’s blood red stone.

 

She dug through the bag searching for the compass but it wasn’t there. She tore through her clean robes and leggings...still no compass.

 

Rey stood to her feet ready to take on an entire army, when the droid chirped in a mechanical montone, “Breakfast is served.”

She paused and exhaled, she would need nourishment for what she had planned next..

 

 

 -----

 

 

Kylo’s dark smudged eyes bore into a man curled up in a fetal position  on the blood smeared floor of an interrogation chamber.

The last vestiges of life left the man as he expired unceremoniously.

Another man dressed in military issued scrubs stood shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Leclerc motioned him over to Kylo with a pointed finger.

 

“Supreme Leader, I don’t think he has any additional information on Dr Roal,” he reported calmly.

He probed Kylo’s eyes beseechingly for a similitude of humanity—he found none in the murky orbs of corruption.

Leclerc gave an apologetic frown to the assistant wearing a polished name tag that read, "Azan."

Azan’s doom was sealed.

 

Azan was brought to his knees as Kylo squeezed his head between gloved hands.

He rifled through countless memories and nothing of use was exposed; yet he continued torturing the innocent man.

Blood drained from his nose and ears and his howling screams filled the death hued room.

As Azan fought the pain desperate to survive, a surprising image jumped out at Kylo from the fading man: it caught him off guard...

 _A cheery, mundane image of Azan and twin girls together, playing and rolling in a tangle of limbs and giggles_...

There was something else Kylo sensed about the memory that irked him as too familiar.

 

He removed his shaking gloves from Azan’s head for a second, guilt overpowering the burning fury.

For a fleeting moment, pity replaced the rage as he peered through Azan’s bloodshot blue eyes.

In a blink the menace returned, and with a nefarious glare he dug into the man’s temples—this time the demon of jealousy had total possession of him.

This mewling man deserved a merciless death!

 

“Sir?” Leclerc called Kylo, balanced high on tiptoes.

 

Kylo didn’t respond; too embroiled in quenching his own darkness.

 

Clearing his throat, Leclerc amplified his voice.”Supreme Leader, the patient escaped,” he said, flattening a lapel.

 

Kylo dropped the weeping man and turned for the exit.

He hurried out, raking sticky hair out of his face with blood stained gloves."Where is she?” he shouted through clenched teeth.

 

Both men left the chamber, Leclerc chopped his steps to keep up with Kylo’s longer stride. “In the hangar Sir,” he answered, blinking rapidly.

 

“Of course she is,” Kylo snorted.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo’s strides ate up the tarmac as he neared his shuttle on the crowded apron.

 

Rey’s quick fingers danced over the console as she locked in a coded sequence for take off.

The ascension of the shuttle was stalled as it swayed perilously from side to side.

She tried to override it manually, when his distinctive volatile energy drilled at her erected shields.

She stood up on impulse, bearing down at him through the viewport.

 

Kylo’s eyes gripped hers in his steely stare, with hands raised and face snarled in concentration.

The shuttle was gaining height above him and he wielded the Force at the right wing, jamming the sensors and tearing it away from its durasteel hull.

The disjointed wing crashed loudly into spacecraft parked beneath it.

Sweating profusely in deliberate focus, he maneuvered the shuttle back on the ground with surgical accuracy, and rushed to the boarding ramp.

 

Rey leaned in the entryway shooting daggers at him from hateful eyes while holding her stomach.

 

He swallowed slowly at the sight of her.

 

 

\-----

 

 

“Let me go!” she shouted, yanking her arm free of his gloved hand. “I don’t need your help.”

 

Kylo signaled for the troopers who flanked from behind to stand down and resume their duties.

 

“Do you really think hiding the saber and compass would keep me here?” she harped acidly.

 

“Are you alright?” he asked, scanning over her body for injuries.

 

In a flash, his crossguard flew from his belt and soared into her expectant grip--she trained it at him taking a wide berth.

 

Shock twisted into anger as he stared at her slack jawed.

 

“Where’s my saber and the compass?” she snapped, eyes close set.

 

He backstepped several paces. “Give me my saber and then you’ll get yours,” he bargained, placating with his gloved hand.

 

“No!” she screamed, charging at him.

 

He used the Force to extinguish it before she could strike him in the torso, and called it into his own hand.

 

Furious, she stretched out her fingers toward him zapping him with streaks of purple lightning—hitting him to the ground.

 

Her yellow eye glowed brightly as she used more of her darkside ability.

 

Kylo kneeled on the ground eyes closed and sent a Force shield to encase her.

Using telekinesis, he raised her up in the air.The circular shield was impervious to Force lightning and she soon tired in her futile attempts at striking him.

 

He lowered her to the ground and closer to him, the electrified shield was the only barrier between them.

The exertion in the warm humid atmosphere left him breathless.

He brought Rey within inches of him. The electrical sparks the shield emitted singed the fibers of his thick surcoat.

 

A bubbling  pulse of light energy tucked inside Rey reached out for him...

 

It was the child. He flinched from his own internal conflict  nostrils flaring. “Rey, who’s the child’s father?” he demanded.

 

He had to know, the speculations churning in his head had already gotten the best of him.

 

“Let me out of here and then I’ll tell you,”she coughed through labored breaths.

 

The shield dissipated as he edged in closer with cautious strides.

Kylo towered over her, keeping his head bowed and eyes aimed between her eyes and rounded midsection.

She was dwarfed by his looming shadow, transfixed in the throes of his oddly composed anticipation.

 

As sure as he was standing here he was going to murder whoever that poor excuse of a man was.

 

Her eye flickered hazel then yellow as she centered herself against the darkness.

She searched his face, digging deeper into his eyes for someone who was no longer there. “You already know who he is,” she said solemnly. Tears were stinging her eyes as she retreated, hunching in on herself.

 

The mournful display she gave confirmed the nagging suspicion he had buried deep—he got the one answer he loathed most...

 

She was right, he wasn’t the child’s father. She was carrying the child of that weak boy who was long dead.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The overcast sky opened and rain pelted them in a ruthless downpour. “Come Rey, we should go,” he mumbled, grabbing for her arm.

 

She squirmed away from him, “I’m not going anywhere with you, you monster. I need to get out of here,” she said, shuddering away.

 

Drenched from the rain, he minded after her sympathetically, “I can’t let you go,” he said, his frown deepening.

 

“Can’t or won’t?” she yelled, backing away and bumping into a transport shuttle.

 

Both urgent eyes flickered yellow.

 

Rey’s features twisted into someone unrecognizable as Force lightning discharged out from her fingertips thrashing him to the ground.

 

She intensified the attack forcing him to recoil and reel in agony. “Rey, please!,” he begged, curling into a black ball.

 

Blood clotted in his nose. Her eyes glinted with murderous fixation as she smirked triumphantly. “And now Kylo Ren, you will die!” she cackled, in a voice that was not hers.

 

Troopers approached with blasters cocked and ready but they were all mowed down forcefully with the chain lightning that she created.

 

The sizzling lightning tore through him burning nerve endings in its wake. He needed to counter her attack quickly but if he used Force deflection, he could hurt her and the baby.

 

He thought of the child and its unsullied innocence—he could never hurt this child or Rey for that matter.

A Soft current of peace engulfed him, buffering the increasing voltage the lightning ejected.

Kylo supported himself to his feet, and tramped toward her, sheathed in a glowing light that protected his entire body.

 

The lightning no longer affected him, her evil grimace was stricken with disappointment as he approached.

 

The impressive display of lightning bolts fizzled into minuscule sparks as the pernicious power waned.

 

He would put her into Force sleep until he figured out what he could safely do with her.

 

Before his gloves could touch her head she had fallen into a forced trance.

 

Rey’s eyes closed and she collapsed helplessly into Kylo’s waiting arms.

 

 

The trance that tranquilized Rey into unconsciousness had been induced by none other than her tiny unborn son.


	5. Enemy Within

Kylo laid in bed studying the durasteel underlay of the tray ceiling in his quarters.

The sensitivity of his connection with Rey had decreased remarkably and this did not bode well with him.

Her shields were no longer an obstruction to his narcissistic curiosities and hence he believed that it would have brought some relief.

He was now able to read the most intimate ruminations projected from her mind without any resistance.

His wish had been granted so to speak.

This is what he wanted... so he thought.

 

A hefty price was paid for the new liberties.

Regrettably, now he was unable to sense her through the Force and he was relentlessly exposed to the constant reminders of her unwavering hate for him.

It was less tortuous being oblivious to her true affections, but now he knew without a doubt that she truly did not love him. It was killing him inside.

 

He sprang upright, clawing through the life of the Force for any sign of her signature.

There was nothing. It was not there. She wasn't there.

The only connection that he made was to the sleeping babe which awoke from his tenacious explorations.

On sensing the baby searching for him, he immediately withdrew—hiding himself.

 

There was an ominous familiarity about the child’s signature that absolutely terrified him.

 

 

\-----

 

 

General Hux’s leather boots squeaked over the polished floors of the Destroyer's bridge.

 

“Supreme Leader, those presumptuous little vermin, have been pirating fuel from our most covert reservoirs!” he sniffed.

 

He primped the chevron on his sleeve, angling himself to exude more of a presence, than he actually had.

He went on,"in addition, they apparently have the assistance of a militant junta hidden in the Unknown Regions,” he waited impatiently on Kylo’s response with a sour expression tightening his face.

 

Dismissively Kylo replied,"is this the most pressing issue I must address? Surely your ingenuity can be used elsewhere General,” he snapped, turning on his heel.

 

"If you are done, I have more important concerns to attend to.” Kylo exited the bridge, leaving Hux sulking after him with a derisive frown.

 

 

\-----

 

 

He planned for Rey’s safety ahead of time, as a result he decided to bring her aboard his Flagship.

Balancing his duties with the First Order and prioritizing the complicated situation he had with Rey was stretching his resolve very thin.

 

His thumb and iris activated the automated door, the extra security was essential, considering the combative nature of his current guest.

 

Kylo entered rooms designated for her own particular use.

She leaned against the viewport, watching an unusually bright nebula fade away in the distance as the Destroyer cruised farther into wild space.

 

“It’s amazing!” she sighed, rubbing her midsection with a thumb.

 

She wore a brand new tunic, this one boasting a deeper shade of grey and  more suited to accommodate her growing girth.

Kylo took slow cautionary strides toward her.

A very pregnant Rey did spontaneous, twisted things to his mind and body. Many night cycles he was forced to shamefully take himself in hand for relief after visiting with her.

 

She heard his approach but didn’t acknowledge him. “Have you eaten yet?” he asked, sharing the view with her while removing his other glove.

 

The scent of wilting flowers filled the space. He’ll have fresh bouquets sent to her quarters as soon as he could.

She gave him a sidelong glance and settled on a thinly cushioned settee in the sitting room.

 

He followed, sitting in a form molding rocker opposite her. “Not yet. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately,” she replied, throwing him a tasteless look.

 

He was satisfied that Rey’s health had improved over the two weeks she’d been in his care; no amount of griping would hinder his contentment.

The first week was challenging though, she protested vehemently against wearing the bracelet but there it was, firmly clasped around her left wrist.

 

“I’ll order a few dishes from the menu,”he insisted." There should be something of interest to you.” She shrugged him off adjusting throw pillows behind her back.

 

He blinked at her longingly then scrolled through the list of selections.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey hummed as she sipped berry flavored whilk’s milk. It quickly became a favorite of hers and the baby had no noticeable objections.

 

“Have you chosen a name for him yet?” Kylo inquired gently, draining the last of his sticky black tea.

 

Rey avoided his eyes, she fingered the metal bracelet around her wrist, drifting away in melancholy. “When can I take this off?” she asked, meeting his eyes with an icy stare.

 

His head was cocked, enchanted by her sparkly hazel eyes: in a blink his enchantment faded away...

 

“We’ve already discussed that,” he stiffened. “Please I..I’d rather not fight tonight,” he said, squeezing the back of his neck and chewing the inside of his mouth.

 

He stood and retreated toward a room adjacent to hers.

The rotating lights blinked on. Kylo gleamed in wonderment at the delightfully decorated nursery.

leaning against the entryway he took in all of the coordinated baby animal prints.

He had chosen most of the accessories himself—orders were delivered from halfway across the galaxy to his ship.

He crouched down in front of a bassinet and lifted up a plush Ewok, running his fingers over it— he found it especially cute.

Kylo was proud that the baby would have everything he could possibly need and want.

He spared no expense when it came to them.

Standing back up, he tilted his head toward Rey and his heart sank.

Silent tears slid down her cheeks.

He was kneeling at her feet and holding her hands in a flash.

 

She peeled his long fingers from hers one by one. “No! Don’t touch me!” she bit, wiping tears away with the back of her cuffed hand.

 

“You...you took him away from me. I’ll never forgive you for that,” she cried out, shoving him aside and running off into her bedroom with an awkward gait.

 

Kylo stood speechless.

 

He felt that nothing he did made her happy. He had to have the cuff made, it was the only thing that disrupted her use of the Force: specifically her use of the dark side.

She and the baby were safe and healthy, that was all that mattered to him but for some reason it wasn’t enough for her.

 

He wasn’t enough for her.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The medical droid dispenced a prenatal supplement  after examining a sample of urine.

It beeped a warning to Rey that she was consuming far too many sugars and not enough protein.

She was tempted to tear out the droid’s circuitry—it droned while downloading all of her health data directly into Kylo’s holopad.

 

“Oh shut it!” she yelled at the droid, wobbling back into the fresher.

 

Rey had another six weeks or so before her due date arrived.

Giving birth on a First Order Flagship with the Supreme Leader at her side was disheartening and beyond belief.

 

How could she let this happen?

 

As artful as she had been, her attempts to escape were cornered on every side by Kylo’s intuitive entrapments.

Something had to give...sooner rather than later.

 

She padded into the sitting room, placed her supplement near her meal and ate her breakfast.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The orange fruit was delicious, she licked at the juice dripping off her chin.

Fruit was one of the new indulgences she enjoyed beside the flavored whilk’s milk.

She was relieved he hadn’t disturbed her in her room the night before.

He was giving her more leeway it seemed, perhaps he was becoming secure that she couldn’t or wouldn’t leave.

The incident on Raxus was a blotchy blur most of her questions went unanswered.

Kylo had acquired another skill set.

He was now a master at thwarting the subject whenever a pertinent question arose.

 

Rey peeped into the glass bowl, there was one piece of fruit left;  this one was a Fuji apple she learned.

 

She reached for it but it slipped from her fingers,hovering out of reach.

 

She sat dumbstruck.

 

As it moved about the room playfully, there was an awful lot of happy thumping in her belly.

Rey couldn’t contain her joy!

Apparently, the Force-cuff didn’t impede the baby’s use of the Force like it did her.

The apple moved to her hand--she grabbed it and bit a piece off.

Rey chewed the crunchy apple while making big circles over her tummy.

A glow of blooming love flowed from her womb right into the depths of her happy soul.

 

“This is our little secret darling, we won’t ever let the bad man know,”she whispered, with full cheeks.

 

 

\-----

 

 

General Hux slid in Kylo’s rectangular office, the door sealing behind him.

 

“What's so urgent Hux? Kylo mumbled, scrolling through military reports on a holo-screen.

 

“Sir, it’s come to my attention that your guest—” Kylo cut him off.

 

“—My guest is no concern of yours General!” he spewed, springing out of his seat.

 

More amused than surprised, Hux continued, “as you wish Sir, but a scandal bordering treason could elicit the retaliation from our Council of Generals.”

 

Kylo restrained his fury, he had to admit that Hux was...right.

If word got out that he was harboring a pregnant jedi on board without justifiable cause, an execution could be imminent.

Allegiance to The First Order was paramount above anything else and any deviation from their idealistic mantra could spell death... even for a Supreme Leader.

 

He was foolish. He never should have brought Rey here.

 

But there were more ways than one to get what he wanted...

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo pressed a button alerting Rey that he was at her door.

He desired to give her a sense of freedom despite the necessary confinement and so—reluctantly, he surrendered the extraneous security detail.

 

He could tell she was behind the door refusing him entrance.

He waited, glancing over both shoulders praying the guards patrolling the floor didn’t happen upon his pathetic state.

With a sigh she unsealed the door and padded back to the settee.

 

“Rey, what else can I do to make you more comfortable?” he pressed, sitting opposite her and removing his gloves.

 

She dismantled her saberstaff, all of the pieces lie on the low table before her— an empty flask sat nearby.

He tilted his head at the creamy residue on the bottom of the glass— a slight smirk threatening.

 

“I want to go onworld to have my baby,” she huffed, fidgeting with the melded Krystal without batting an eye.

 

He worked his jaw for an appropriate response.“You should stay here, where there’s a proper medical facility. I will not have you giving birth on some barren wasteland.” The volume of his voice increased with each successive word.

 

He tramped over to the viewport, fists curling.

She regarded him, crossing arms over her enlarged bosom.

 

“Honestly, why do you even care?” she pried, shaking her head at him. I’m carrying a child who isn’t yours and you know full well I won’t have you.”

 

Twisting around, he growled,”is this how you repay me? By spitting the first insult that comes to your mouth?” His eyes locked on her like talons.

 

“ _Repay?_!” she bit back a retort, laughing bitterly.

 

Rolling in a tumult of spiked emotions and eyes lit with rage— Kylo crashed the table and its contents against the wall with the Force.

 

“You’re the fool Rey!  Letting a weak, useless, stupid boy seduce you like that,” he barked, lunging inches from her face.

 

"A devoted whore, to a piece of space trash!” he screamed, veins bulging in his neck.

 

WHAP!!

 

She slapped him hard—he caught her hand before she peppered the other side of his face.

 

“Get out!” she hollered through a torrent of tears. “Just leave me be.” She slid back on the settee, her face hidden in her hands.

 

Kylo froze, his rage receding.

He combed his fingers through his hair, surveying the shattered table and its scattered contents. 

The pain he inflicted on Rey hurt the most. Her agonized expression spoke volumes of what he had done.

Why couldn't he control himself and bridle his tongue?

He always destroyed anything of consequence in his dismal life...

 

Heaving in embarrassment, he stomped out.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey lie in bed on her side, with a large pillow between her knees.

She scrubbed at dried tear tracks.

The Force was not limited by a simple bracelet she contemplated.

The light within it blinked green indicating no use of the Force. It would turn red if she attempted to access it.

An electric shock would run straight to her brain putting her in a comatosed state. To her it was a device of torture and confinement...and control.

She was a lonely creature of solitude before and now sadly...very lonely again.

 

Rey reflected back to the moment that she shared her vision of the future with the man she loved.

He too had a vision of their possible future.

 

Why did the Force reveal this to them if it led to naught?

Did their affirmation in the turbolift mean anything?

 

 

_“Ben when we made love...I saw your future just the shape of it, but solid and clear. You will not bow before Snoke. You’ll turn. I’ll help you. I  saw it.”_

 

 

Now she feared that the vision was only a sadistic hoax...an evil manipulation of her deepest sensibility.

 

Her vision would not come to past, because Ben was no more.

 

 

Rey wept herself to sleep...


	6. The Interim

Jets of hot water beat down on Rey’s aching back, she slid her fingers over the digital panel, switching the temperature from hot to cold.

Much better!

The cooler water rinsed the gelatinous cleanser from her tummy and bulging belly button.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The med-droid deposited her supplement into her hand and bleated that her blood pressure was elevated, it advised that she take bedrest.

As per its routine requirement, the droid downloaded all of her current data to Kylo’s device.

The med-droid shorted, a spark backfiring out of a frontal multiport utility socket.

Rey’s clever fingers worked at disconnecting the transfer before the upload was complete but she wasn’t fast enough to intercept.

 

She jabbed a testy finger at the droid’s sensor. “You are not my friend if you work for him. Hmph!” she grumped, strutting off.

 

It beeped and tottered away, red sensors dimming to black as it shut down near the archway.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Sweat dripped off of Kylo’s scowled face and bare back onto a padded mat.

Puddles pooled under his overheated body,the grunts of his exertion echoing through the empty training hall.

Muscles coiled like wire as he lowered his chest into the two thousandth pushup.

He exhaled deeply on the last descent, collapsing from contractions spasming through his arms and shoulders.

He flopped onto his back swallowing  gulps of the ship’s reprocessed air.

 

Kylo pushed himself to his feet and tramped toward the refresher as a custodial droid whirred over the wet mat.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo hunched, glaring up at the dais where his unoccupied throne glinted its disappointment at him.

 

This throne room was designed to facilitate he and his elite security unit, but he had neglected to utilize it in the manner befitting a malevolent Supreme Leader.

He climbed the obsidian steps and sat, erecting himself into a comfortable fit—likened to trying on a new pair of boots.

 

An imperial sigil was emblazoned on the transparisteel of the circular viewport behind the throne.

View-Screens connected to the Destroyer’s mainframe were left dormant until further notice.

He thumbed buttons concealed in the inner arm of the throne. With one push a man’s body would be obliterated by the hidden arsenal.

Kylo remembered his knights as he stared down at the holding room in the far end of the tower.

He didn’t mourn any of them. He had assisted Rey in killing them in Snoke’s throne room and never regretted it.

Under the glossy red trappings of each Praetorian Guard was a fallen, forgotten Knight of Ren.

For a fleeting moment, he imagined Rey at his side ruling with him, sitting on her own throne wearing finery from the most exclusive couturieres of Naboo.

Perchance,eventually he might even pass his sovereign mantle down to her son...

A bitter chuckle echoed...

He stabbed at his head with a balled fist.

No!

That would never work.

 

 

\-----

 

 

With all of the components slotted back in their rightful places and the power cell energized, Rey set her saber in its brocaded sheath.

It wasn’t an elegant weapon by any means but it was powerful when wielded under the influence of the Force.

She missed flowing vicariously in its infinite web of power. Being connected to everything and everyone, sensing danger, compassion and hate.

 

Her door buzzed and she let in her personal Attending Trooper, his entourage of flower bearers trailed foot for foot.

Rey loved plants and flowers, they represented renewed life and vitality; their scarcity on Jakku made her appreciate their beauty the more.

But she hated them when they were given out from the demented sentiments of Kylo Ren.

She knitted her forehead as they were placed on tables throughout the rooms.

 

“No, not in there,” Rey shouted, she called the trooper over from the baby's nursery—he must be new.

 

“I beg your pardon, Madam.” The female voice trembled, apologizing.

 

“It’s alright, I’ll take it.” Taken aback by her docile manner Rey read the tag “JT-9099” while resting the floral arrangement on the low table.

 

“Are you new?” she questioned.

 

“Yes Ma'am, I arrived this morning. I was a Jump Trooper stationed in the Inner—”

 

“Out!” The Attending barked.

 

She scurried out of the rooms in her stiff adornments. Rey regarded after her with curiosity. She’s the first female encountered her whole stay on this utilitarian graveyard.

How interesting...

 

“The Plantarium is complete and at your disposal Ma'am. I’ll escort you at your earliest convenience,” The Attending informed.

 

“You’ll do no such thing. I’m quite capable of walking by myself.”

 

He took two steps back." Only following orders Ma'am, please take that up with Supreme Leader,” he saluted.

 

Rey bit her tongue suppressing an expletive about that damned Supreme Leader.

She nodded her understanding and the door sealed shut.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo peered through the transparent barrier of the massive docking bay.

Five stories below, a lone transfer shuttle disembarked the hangar.

General Hux would be taxied back to his warship; he was determined to annihilate every opposing entity that defied the First Order.

Beneath it all Kylo sensed a mutinous conspiracy forging, his vigilance served him well so far.

He had a sinking suspicion that the General would rest at nothing until he was executed.

Every guard was raised and would remain so.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The foyer door of Kylo's office hissed open and he stepped in."See that I am not distrubed.” He waved off his Attending Trooper.

 

“Yes Supreme Leader.” He clicked his heels and stood at attention outside the door.

 

Kylo scrolled through his holopad until he found the locked file folder that he searched for.

One that required a twenty character passcode.

He opened it and a series of holovids populated, automatically playing in chronological order. He allowed all of them to play but he kept replaying one vid in particular.

It was the monochrome holoscan of the dreaming child sleeping in Rey’s womb.

He rotated the image at 360 degrees, viewing all angles of the suckling babe. He counted every finger and toe three times—all of the tiny digits were present and accounted for.

Finally he zoomed in on the baby’s puckered face, a detail he never explored before.

Kylo lent a meticulous eye to the child’s developing features.

He observed that as small as this little baby was his nose and ears were undeniable and already very prominent.

Kylo cut off the vid and a groan escaped his tightened jaw.

He opened an application sifting brusquely through pages and pages of automatonic jargon until he saw a phrase that read, “moderate preeclampsia, bed rest required.”

Guilt poured over him and he slammed the holopad on his desk face down, bowing his head.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Relief swept over Rey when she was certain there would be no visit from the Phantom Menace this evening.

She tipped out of her rooms only to be accosted by her Attending Trooper, her glee ebbed on cue.

She followed the Attending through the winding corridors and into a turbo lift.

They exited on the floor directly above her rooms. She had studied blueprints of the ship so she was mindful that Kylo’s quarters were located there.

 

“Why are we going this way?” She slowed her pace.

 

He pointed straight ahead,”Ma'am it’s just past there.”

 

As they approached Kylo’s antechamber, a confounding sight caused Rey’s breath to hitch.

Out of Kylo’s chambers a beautiful, black haired woman clad in only a scrap of a string between her buttocks, scampered in front of the doors.

She clutched clothing to her bare chest—her horrified gaze met Rey’s confused one.

The Attending pretended not to see and marched onward.

Rey craned behind her but the mystery woman had all but vanished.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Incandescent lighting accentuated the brilliant array of exotic Ferns, vines and flowers.

Every display was carefully arranged to highlight each plant’s individual splendor.

The Attending guarded the doors while Rey analyzed the collection of shade tolerant plants with childlike fascination.

 

“You are relieved of your duties for the night," A deep voice rumbled from the entry.

 

Rey kept her gaze on a sweet flower labelled, “Velani." She sniffed its aromatic scent into her nostril and stifled a sneeze with a finger.

Her countenance hardened as each elongated stride he made brought him nearer to her.

 

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” He shadowed her, almost pushing his broad chest into her back.The lingering scent of smoke was heavier on him tonight.

 

“Shouldn’t you be in your quarters?” she snapped through gritted teeth, worming to the next plant.

 

Maneuvering with her tummy was becoming more cumbersome as her baby grew.

 

Confusion crept over Kylo’s face. “If you enjoy the Velanie, I can have the fragrance delivered for you.”

 

“No thanks, you can save it for your lady friend.”Her tone pricked with pins.

 

“What? Lady friend?” He ran his fingers through his long bang stopping at the top of his head—realization dawning.

His eyes narrowed. He didn’t want to fight, it had been two consecutive nights of bickering between them already.

He was tired of it but this had to be addressed. He kept his rising anger from reaching his face.

 

“Are you referring to the naked woman who ran out of my quarters?” Rey’s ears went red. Of course she meant her.

 

“Whoever you lie with is no concern of mine. But judging by the looks of her, perhaps you should try being more civil next time."

Rey didn’t care who he took to bed, she was appalled by whose body he was using for his lascivious acts.

 

She ran her fingers over the bumpy veins of a Moss Fern. Indifferent.

 

Kylo’s features relaxed, he chewed on a cheek; recognizing what ailed her.

She was simply jealous he surmised. He would play along.

The corners of his mouth twitched at the prospect of lifting the weighty mood in the heated biome.

 

“Do you think I took her? To bed I mean.” He cocked his head in amusement.

 

She wobbled to face him. “Of course you did, because all you do is take!” She stooped over an orange Funnel Plant.

 

“Well I’m sorry to disappoint you. I didn’t.”He crossed his arms over his chest leaning on a potting station.

His eyes set on her belly, warmth filled his chest in tidal waves.

 

Should he ask to touch it? The baby was growing so fast.

Could he tell how much by holding it?

 

Rey’s sudden shyness tickled him though, her cheeks pinking for some reason. He kept his delight inside.

The humidity in The Plantarium must have risen by 50 degrees, because Rey flushed all over and started for the doors.

 

“leaving so soon?”he teased, following behind her. “I’ll have you know, this is not the first time Hux has indulged in such careless, juvenile behavior.

I’ve had the displeasure of entering my bedchamber on nights where naked women and sometimes men were waiting between my sheets.

One man lost an arm because of his overt eagerness to please,” he explained, through a creased mouth.

 

 

Rey cringed, turning to search his impassive face. He was so hard to read at times. And at others it was so easy.

 

“So, I suppose it’s safe to say y...your hands are full,”she stuttered, resting by the doors.

 

He closed the distance between them  as much as her tummy allowed.

 

“Rey there has only ever been you.You have to believe me. Please believe me.” His gloved fingers skimmed over her sulking face.

 

She balked, wrenching his hand away and gave him a hard poke in the chest.

 

“No, you’re wrong Kylo. I’ve never joined with you. Never! Ben is the only man I’ve joined with.”

 

His mouth opened then closed. It was true...

She stepped around him and left, leaving him wallowing in a gurgling cesspool of conflict.

 

 

The battle was raging inside of him,the re-emergence of Ben Solo was unavoidable.

Some dead embers do live again, when there’s enough of a spark to rekindle a fire.

He was digging his way out of mire created by decades of struggles with hate, self loathing, abandonment and conflict.

 

Only one victor would triumph through the carnage of wills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and commenting!!!  
> Next chapter gets a little slippery...  
> The boundary between an M and E rating may be stretched a smidge ;)


	7. Symbiosis

Searing pain over Rey’s stomach wrenched her awake. She writhed through the sheets in agony, gripping her tummy, squeezing herself into a tight ball.

It was too early for her to be in labor. Through all the pain she worried for her baby.

The scalding sensation continued in intervals—Rey hung her face over the side of the bed...emptying her stomach on the floor, a service droid rolled beside the bed going to work.

 

The med-droid usually hibernated until her waking cycle, as a result it didn’t stir.

Rey fumbled on a side table for its remote sensor, the med-droid chittered to life and tottered to her.

It bleated sternly for her to remain calm while it ran a gamut of emergency tests.

The excruciating pain continued, Rey gasped. Her jaw was tight and face set in a deep grimace as she tried to use the Force.

 

The Med-droid beeped the prognostic data.

According to its assessment, Rey was completely fine and the baby was in no danger.

 

She was not in labor.

 

What was causing such severe pain?

 

The baby sent an urgent curl of hope through her body and mind but he couldn’t help to alleviate the inexplicable pain.

She felt so helpless having to depend on her unborn child for comfort.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, rubbing her midsection.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo closed out a holo-projection of Allegiant General Pryde. Their discourse went as planned but he was aware that any discrepancies in First Order criterion could spell his ruination.

With this particular General a razor sharp line was clearly drawn and followed.

 

Kylo snapped up his blinking holopad, deleting three annoyingly repetitive reminders from Hux about a council meeting in a week’s time.

He scrolled midway.

PING!

And was interrupted by an incoming direct message from Rey’s EM-D Unit.

Kylo clicked on the alert.

Why did Rey request testing at such a late hour in her sleeping cycle?

 

With a gloved finger, he carefully read the diagnostic report.

All was well.

 

He took a deep sigh of relief... when a tiny flare in the Force tugged at his signature.  Kylo flinched, standing to his feet.

The baby continued to pull at him, beckoning him. Kylo’s jaw tightened as nervousness gnawed at him.

He stepped towards the door and it unsealed for him, its gears clicked unsure whether it should stay open or close.

He stumbled back, massaging his temples while giving pause to his vacillating thoughts.

Damn it!

The door unsealed again and he trekked for Rey’s quarters.

 

 

\-----

 

 

After three failed attempts to contact Rey, Kylo tried to override the security, using the keypad. “Access Denied-Access Denied….” Rattled at him.

He punched the panel until the female coded voice ceased.

His crossguard sputtered on, about to slice through the door— when the door slid open.

He extinguished the saber, scanning the darkened sitting room for Rey but she wasn’t there. Odd.

 

A scream tore through the silence and Kylo raced into Rey’s bedchamber.

Gods!

She was delirious with pain!

 

What was wrong?

 

“Rey!” he bellowed, wiping her sweaty brow. “Please sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

 

She didn't respond coherently, mumbling something about the bracelet.

Oh No!

Anything but that. He wasn’t going to remove it, it was far too risky.

 

Electric currents sparked through her brain every time she merged with the Force. Rey doubled over and Kylo's eyes were wild and glassy—frenzied for a solution.

She yanked at her night gown and he saw a light glowing from under it. Her eyes were shut tight as she screamed.

He ripped off his gloves with his teeth and raised the gown until it was up under her breasts. The sight of her. Maker! He slapped himself in the head.

 

A circular, iridescent pattern blazed over the curve of her stomach.

He stretched out his hand, touching a finger to the strange mosaic image emerging and it burned into his flesh like fire.

 

“What the—!” Kylo used the Force to deactivate the bracelet and it fell from her wrist, clinking to the floor.

He stared at Rey, holding his breath in—her whimpers slowly died down but the mosaic got brighter. He had seen this image before in a Jedi Text. The glyphs flickering on the image were similar to those found on The Altar of Mortis.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo and Rey gazed at each other in amazement as Luke’s compass hovered over to them.

 

“Are you doing this?” he whispered, eyes glued to the compass. Rey shook her head, equally baffled. It was the baby, she was sure but she didn’t want Kylo to know.

The compass opened and it turned to face her glowing stomach. A white light emitted from both the mosaic and the compass, creating an expansive image of a planetary system above them.

The projection zoomed in, magnifying the pulsing system.

 

“It’s The Chrelythiumn System,”Kylo announced, furrowing his brow.

 

Rey eyed her stomach, the baby squirmed excitedly inside her, bringing her great discomfort.

 

"Please be still for mummy," she winced.

 

“He’s powerful in the Force,” he gloated, awestruck.

 

The compass fell and Kylo caught it.

 

“It wants me to go there.”Rey pulled her gown down and over her dimming midsection.

 

“To Mortis?”

 

“Yes I think so, but first I have something I need to do.”

 

Kylo’s expression of awe, sagged to one of misery. “Rey. I-I can’t let you leave,” he admitted. “Please understand.”

 

She regarded him, plucking away at his energy print...it was changing. “I’m sorry but Finn needs me. I should go.” She foraged through the draw compartments and gathered her things, smoothing fallen hair behind her ears.

 

Kylo’s eyes darkened as he stalked to the archway glaring flames at her. “You can’t get that kriffing traitor out of your system can you?” he snarled, igniting his saber and lancing it through the wall.

 

Her face was twisted with disgust.“He’s a widower and single father because of you,” she yelled, shooting daggers back.

 

Kylo’s shoulders fell in confusion.”What?” He deactivated the crossguard, slack jawed.

 

“You had a firing squad, kill Rose, Jessika and the others...including Leia.” Tears flowed through her bloodshot eyes at her mention of the beloved General.

 

Kylo was deathly pale, he keeled over to hurl before catching his bearings beside the door frame.

 

“I never ordered their deaths..I...I could never kill…”He let out a shuddering breath unable to finish.

 

His mind went at a thousand parsecs, eyes flashing wild. “Hux reported that it was an act of fratricide, disguised as friendly fire,” he recollected—eyes glazing.

 

With dubious sincerity Rey asked, “if you didn’t do it, who did?”

 

 

\-----

 

 

“An escapee sent an encrypted message to Finn saying you killed the contingent. He was sure it was you because you were wearing that metal abomination.”

 

Kylo shook his head, pulling at his hair. “I didn’t!” he cried, falling to his knees. The loss of his mother had torn a galaxy sized hole into his heart and now, with this new information, the delicate wound was savagely ripped open again.

 

She inched towards him, placing her hands on both sides of his head, he covered her hands with his, digging her fingers in deeper.

 

 _Show me, I have to see_  ,She spoke to him through the bond.

 

 _Take whatever you need,_ he answered

 

**His memory invaded her mind:**

_On the day of the murders he was following a lead to her whereabouts in a totally different system_.

 

He wasn’t there and hadn’t done it. Her hands fell limply at her side, profound sadness transforming her.

 

She pulled his chin up to face her and dove into his grieving eyes. “All this time I’ve hated you for something you had no part in,”she mumbled apologetically.

 

Leia’s untimely demise kept him riveted in silent despair. He would avenge her death. His dark eyes were full of tears threatening to spill over while his lips quivered.

She rubbed soothing circles over his back as the tears started to fall. He whimpered through a choked garble of profanity—punching the floor until his knuckles split open.

 

The baby sent a gush of liquid love rushing through him. His breathing relaxed and he slowly straightened himself up on his knees. For the very first time he took in all of the loving affection bubbling in the recesses of his heart, and sent it back through the Force and into the child.

 

 _You are the light of my heart_ , he said through their connection.

 

Rey fingered Kylo’s hair out of his swollen eyes. She sensed through the Force... someone long dead rising.

She held his sullen face in her hand, tears chasing down his cheeks. She wasn’t looking into the evil eyes of a sadistic murderer any longer— the afflicted gaze belonged to a son mourning the loss of his only mother.

He stared at Rey—immovable, tears burning. He blinked them shut, tired of his contentious battle with the light. He waded through the bewitching voices that had captured him from infancy, conditioning and torturing him most of his life. He had to unravel Snoke’s posthumous stranglehold on his mind.

As he continued to weep the fragile facade of Kylo Ren started to crack.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Kylo’s dark head crowded Rey’s shortened lap, as she carded her fingers through his shoulder length hair. Her floodgates reopened and tears from the past met tears for the future.

Kylo shed his share. His tears soaked wet spots through her silk nightgown; draining down her leg. He was sprawled across the bed with both arms encircled tight around her waist.

He held her like his last sustenance depended on it. He was still too overwhelmed to speak, his pain ebbed through muffled groans.

The proximity to Rey and his child was healing a place in him he couldn’t reach. Three intertwined signatures swirled as one—their hearts beating in sync.

A restorative energy from the Force materialized like a glowing light, covering them. Healing them.

The baby slept peacefully between  his parents for the very first time since he was conceived.

 

 

\-----

 

 

More than two hours passed and the two were still fused together in a tangled embrace. Rey’s back was pressed upright, propped with pillows against the durasteel headboard. She twirled Ben’s silken dark hair around her fingers. He needed a good trim, she might do it herself before she leaves.

Rey found it therapeutic touching him this way, his heated body on top of hers, his chin stubbles pricking at her skin. The low moans vibrating from him into her thigh, indicated to her it was equally satisfying for him.

 

“Ben?”

 

“Mmm?”

 

“I need to go to the fresher. I’m sorry but my bladder—” He shook himself out of the Rey induced torpor, knelt between her legs and pecked her on the lips.

 

She squirmed to the edge of the bed clumsily, her body still ached and the baby’s sleeping weight rested heavy on her full bladder.

 

He darted over to help her ip, with arms outstretched. “Come.” She quavered into his muscular arms.

 

He hunched on the bed waiting patiently for her to return, she waddled out of the fresher and his eyes met hers.

 

“Rey, may I bathe you?”his tone was heavy with  affection.

 

Her eyes bugged, mixed emotions spinning.

 

Was this too soon?

 

Her muscles were sore, warm water would help.

 

Smitten by the compassionate intensity of his gaze, she nodded.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Her hair hung densely to the middle of her back, his fingers combing through the tresses as water rinsed it. He lathered the sponge again, after washing the back of her thoroughly.The front of her required his earnest, undivided attention.

Doing this for Rey was a privilege he didn’t deserve, he cherished her and would show her how much every chance she gave him.

 

“Turn for me sweetheart.” His rumbly voice was absorbed in the loud sprays from the shower spigot.

 

She pivoted slowly, meeting his hooded eyes.

She kept her gaze above his waist on his solid chest; muscles flexing under his ministrations.

With soft, delicate strokes he washed her neck and chest.

Her breasts were engorged and looked uncomfortably painful, the green veins ran so near to the surface of her translucent skin.

Her nipples were stretched into a darker shade of pink than he remembered. His body reacted to the sight of them and he hissed in response but this was not about him.

He squeezed the sponge over them, letting the shower rinse the creamy suds away.

 

“Thank you,” she mouthed silently. He nodded, holding her waist in place as he washed the curve of her belly.

 

It was a surreal experience, tending to Rey while their son slept in her womb. Sensing her insecurity he kissed her belly button. “You’re beautiful Rey, this is beautiful.”

 

She smiled behind a hand. He held both sides of her tummy and whispered to the baby,"your mother is the most beautiful woman in all the worlds. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”He pressed gentle kisses down her pregnancy line, stopping at her pubic hair.

 

Now she didn’t want him to stop...

 

Her eyes flickered below his waist and as expected, his arousal was jutting up to his abdomen and angrily bobbing about.

 

“It doesn’t mean—I...I can’t control it,” he blurted.

 

“It’s ok Ben. I know. May I wash you?”

 

He gulped, giving a slow even nod.

 

 

\-----

 

 

She brought her hips down to the foot of the bed, parting her legs the way he had instructed her. Neither of them had done this before but in his dreams he always got it right.

She was beet red as soon as he started tasting her. Her scent was fresh, feminine and gods so intoxicating—he had to do this again...soon.

Ten minutes ago their mouths were crushed together,tongues sweeping greedily over the other…he sucked languidly at her lips and neck leaving a trail of purpling spots.

Through the bond she felt his aching desire for relief and she had palmed his thick length into a glorious release under the hot shower.

Now it was his turn to honor her with his devotion. He was attentive to every inch of her swollen flesh, he could please her this way forever.

He tried desperately to ignore his starved hardness which angled involuntarily at her. Just the sight of her pink folds pulled him dangerously close to his own climax.

In a matter of minutes her groans were audible from all the way in the sitting room, where the chrono ticked. Her obscene noises went straight to his painful erection, causing it to constrict.

 

“Please Rey, I need you to come for me,”he begged, quickening his efforts.

 

She whimpered and moaned.

Whatever he was doing was working because she was fisting his hair, tugging at the sheets and squeezing his head in sheer ecstacy.

She rode a soaring wave of bliss to its pulsating end and his request was irrefutably granted. His darling Rey was sated which made his pleasure complete.

The evidence of his second release, a spontaneous orgasm, stained the sheet between them and he crept behind Rey pulling her into his chest.

He buried his face into her hair, kissing her as her shallow panting subsided.

His arms went around her warm middle.

 

“Rest, tomorrow’s a busy day,” he muttered, hot breaths fogging her scalp.

 

She put her hand on top of his and allowed the heat from his body to soothe her to sleep.

 

He thanked the Force for uniting his little family, lacing his signature with theirs as they rested in his arms.

It was the best sleep either of them had in ages.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey buckled in her seat, legs astride. She adjusted the straps to a snug fit under her bump and punched in the coordinates in the Navi-Comp for Finn’s Mid Rim moonbase.

Her conversation with him was brief, but enough was said to convey their mutual trust and respect for each other; especially under such difficult circumstances.

As she prepared for take off her breath caught. A dark figure lowered himself at her side, his large hand brushed along her face with long fingers laying stray strands behind an ear.

 

“I trust you,” he said, a little above a whisper. “Please don’t let me live to regret this.” He caressed the top of her tummy lightly, making small patterns with a wide thumb.

 

He sensed his son tugging at him and sent a hopeful wave of love to pacify his fears.

She looped her hands behind his neck, drawing him in until their foreheads touched.

 

“I won’t. I promise.”

 

They shared the same breath and he pressed his lips to hers, flicking them apart with his hellish tongue.

She devoured the sweetness of the black tea, deepening their kiss.

The busyness of the hangar agitated him. He pulled his mouth from hers, giving her quick pecks on her lips and neck—he traced a finger along the purple marks he left.

 

“Go, before I change my mind,” he quirked, twitching his mouth.

 

She nodded. He back stepped onto the exit ramp.

 

“Comm me as soon as you make atmosphere, I won’t rely on the bond.”

 

“I will.” she kissed a finger and placed it over her heart, he mirrored the gesture.

 

 

“See you soon Ben.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mature or E, what's your opinion?
> 
> Comments=Credits  
> Kudos=Portions
> 
> I made a twitter. Stop by and Say [Hi](https://twitter.com/JujuPlumb)


	8. Changeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***Warning for Sensitive Readers: Brief reference to Fetal Harm/Infantcide***

He stood vigil in the hangar, hair and cape flagging from the repulsor-thrusters.

His gaze was locked in on the spot where Rey’s shuttle streaked into hyperspace seconds before. The pain around his heart churned like it was scraped over heated glass.

His entire galaxy was on that shuttle and the loss of their warmth left a widening chasm of coldness inside of him.

They were distant sparks in the Force and fading further away with each passing second.

He collected himself,permitting relief of their departure to outweigh an inevitable recourse.

 

Last night with Rey gave him indescribable joy, he hoped in his heart that it wouldn’t be their last. The seed Dr Roal sowed in his mind had taken root.

 

The unrelenting words haunted him daily, _”It’s too late for you_.”

 

The images that played in his head— his visions of the future were different than before. He envisioned a future where Rey and his son were happy together but he was always absent. He was never in any of the images that comforted him.

The forthcoming meeting with the Council of Generals could trigger a chain of events that he may not be able to reverse.

It was a chance he was willing to take but he couldn’t risk something happening to them whether he was executed or not.

He would protect them with his own life and try to love them the way they deserved for as long as he could.

 

Ben buried his fears deep down—where she couldn’t sense them through their bond.

 

He didn't dare burden her with this yoke.

 

She could never know.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey’s Stealth Shuttle bulleted through hyperspace, its hyperdrive purring a rhythmical vibration throughout the hull.

The cloaking mechanism would stay activated until she landed on an unidentified moon in the Contruum System.

She memorized the encoded coordinates Finn sent months prior;the trajectory predicted was one full day’s cycle.

 

The shuttle was laden with supplies including the dutiful EM-D Unit.

Ben insured that every nook was crammed with provisions,specifically those he deemed necessities:frozen pouches of fresh Whilk’s Milk,vacuum sealed fruits,her snuggie pillow that he personally embroidered and every accouterment a newborn could wear for three months.

She considered it ridiculous that her health data would still be transmitted to his holopad light years away.

 

This particular fleet of shuttles was designed for long term missions in the Outer Regions.

Each spacecraft was equipped to house nine crewmen comfortably in any field of battle.

It was a perfect, safe, home away from home,wherever... home was.

 

With the auto-pilot engaged, Rey would nap as soon as she was through with the fresher.

Growing her little human was physically demanding and taxing, she puffed a heavy sigh as she entered...

 

 

\-----

 

 

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

 

Her Comm chirped in a frenzy, it shouldn’t be Ben already. She’s only been in hyperspace for an hour!

She wobbled to the cockpit from the fresher--wiggling to the back of the pilot’s chair.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Where were you?”

 

“Ben?”

 

“You have to answer when I Comm,” he spoke quickly. Frantic.

 

“You told me to Comm you as soon as I entered the Moon’s atmosphere and it hasn’t even been an hour,” she snickered to herself.

 

Awkward silence filled his end of the transmission.

 

“I was in the fresher...remember my bladder and the baby?” She removed a boot from her swollen foot.

 

“Right. I...I miss you.”

 

“Ben, is everything alright?” She removed the other boot and waited for an answer.

 

He didn’t respond right away;she sensed uncertainty and fear dripping off of him.

 

“What I did last night...may I do it again? There’s something I want to try.” He was thwarting her off of his trail with underhanded seduction.

 

“Perhaps,” she giggled,flushing pink—oblivious to his sneaky tactics.

 

“Rey?” his tone was firm, “we need to name him.”

 

“Before he’s born?” Naming a child before birth on Jakku was absurd, considering the majority of pregnancies never made it to full-term and most babies didn’t survive.

 

His voice softened,“yes before he’s born.”

 

“I haven’t thought of one yet, I was waiting to meet him first.”

 

“I see…” his voice was low and distant.

 

“Maybe you should name him, he is your son too.”

 

He swallowed thickly.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey maneuvered through the hollow of the moon’s core, through the decoy holo-projection.

The expansive area surrounding the floating platform was littered with rocky debris. Boulders toppled off of ridges in the distance.

She had never been anywhere that required such pinpoint accuracy for landing.

The engines whirred down,thrusters disengaging. An instant  bout of atmosphere sickness sent her scurrying back to the fresher.

Finn waited for her in matching beret and gray fatigues,standing arms akimbo at the bottom of the exit ramp.

His smile didn’t make it up to his eyes and the left side of his face was pitted in small scars.

 

He met her half way to support her on the way down. “Look at you!” he taunted.

 

“Don’t say it Finn, I know I’m huge,” she chortled, looping her arm around his. He turned a cold eye at the marks on her neck.

 

Two men outfitted in the same padded fatigues, raced up the ramp as Finn motioned them forward. “Don’t worry, they’ll bring whatever you need down to the barracks.”

 

Rey’s forehead was clammy with sweat, she couldn’t tell if it was the moon’s humidity or her final trimester riddling her body with the bothersome symptoms.

The duraplex windscreen of the landspeeder sealed shut and they flitted through the black tunnels, burrowing further inside the moon’s core.

Shimmering stalactites hung precariously in their path—Finn’s jedi-like reflexes got an approving eye from Rey.

 

“When did you learn to fly so well?”

 

He gave a wry grin,“I do what I have to do to survive.”

 

They took a sharp turn through a city-sized tunnel.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The interior of Hux’s chambers were as austere and circumspect as he was.

He left no trace of his eccentricities or personal items in the functional habitation.

Ben tore through the bare closet and stiff bedding—searching everywhere.

Nothing.

He sensed something was there...but where?

Hux’s quarters was much smaller than he and Rey’s, with only a bedchamber and a refresher—there were only so many places he could rummage.

 

Frustration threatened him to the brink of destroying the whole place... when he sensed it again.

Something familiar and new was present.

His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air above him like a predatory creature.

Plastisteel tiles decorated the tray ceilings and there was a distinct aura right over head.

 

He telekinetically removed all of the tiles.

Through the Force he latched onto the object and summoned it into his leather glove.

 

He stood aghast staring into the monstrous mask of Kylo Ren...

 

It was lighter than he remembered.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Finn escorted Rey past a busy mess hall, soldiers clambered to attention as he strutted past the periphery.

They took a shortcut through the Command Center, which led to a semi-circular corridor.

Around the corner from the corridor, they arrived at a twelve foot iron door.

He keyed in a numerical code, unlocking it.The mammoth door groaned open to a large vaulted room that resembled a prison cell from antiquity.

 

“You’ll be safe here, I’m right next door.” He pinned a strobing device to her tunic, “buzz anytime if you need me.”

 

She sat into the stiff bed and eyeballed the rainbow onyx walls, water snaking down between the crevices—it was much cooler inside.

His transceiver blinked,she perked an ear at the boorish manner in which he requested their meals. Finn was different.

 

“Finn you’ve changed,” she remarked, following him around the cavernous dwelling with wary eyes.

 

He unfolded a table and two chairs that were leaning on a wall. “We all have,” he said evenly, his eyes falling to her midsection.”We’ve had to adapt in our own way.” He dragged a chair, rested in it and faced her.

 

She opened his palm and dropped the Sith necklace in. “Are you sure this is gonna work Rey?” He turned the red stone over in his hand skeptically.

 

“It will work,” she reassured, squeezing the hand that held the pendant.

He nodded and the smile she adored broke out over his face, it gave her the fuzzies.

 

He sprang out of his chair.“Woe! Wait a minute. What was that?”

 

“What was what?” she queried. Confused.

 

“Your eye, it did something weird just now.”

 

“Weird like what? I felt a bit sick earlier…”

 

“Oh ok,I swear—” He stood up scratching his head. Puzzled.

 

She roved over him with worry, he was not quite himself. The war certainly took a toll on his mind and body.  Poor Finn.

 

“Could you see that they bring my sleeping pillow please?”

 

“Yeah sure.” He lifted a knowing eyebrow at her, before turning to the door.

 

“Listen, I’ll be right back. There’s someone I want you to meet.”He slipped out of the room, leaving the door ajar.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey’s stomach settled enough to enjoy a small serving of vegetable stew with a dollop of whipped milk.

She marvelled at Finn scarfing down his food with one hand and balancing a sleeping baby on his shoulder with the other.

He was the leader of a platoon, a father and a brother to her.

She couldn’t hide her admiration for him—her mouth stretched into a wide smile.

She pictured how perfect it would be for their children to play together in the future.

 

“Oh she’s so adorable Finn, she has your nose and—” Rose’s eyes is what she meant to say but didn't.

 

He bit into his meal-bread and slurped at his stew.

Watching Finn with his daughter made her think of Ben; she missed him dearly.

She’d comm him again as soon as Finn left.

 

“You sure Psycho Ren didn’t follow you here?” His words were mildly sarcastic, “you know I’ll kill him if he does.”His grip on his little daughter tightened, loud slurping resumed.

 

That stung. Would it be so bad if he did come?

 

As soon as Rey found out she was pregnant she shared the forbiddance with Finn, Leia was the next person she told.

Finn hoped that Poe was the father and didn’t speak to her for weeks after learning who was.

But Leia touched her flat tummy and sensed who fathered her child right away.

She didn’t tell anyone else, not even Rose: they wouldn’t understand.

 

“No, of course not. He does know where I am though. I can’t escape him any longer.”

 

“Oof!”

 

The baby kicked her hard...

 

 

\-----

 

 

A sinister black helm gloated its victory on top of a display stand.

A gloved hand ran an energy scanner over the metal helmet,it presented its findings, _"100% Poly-Alloy.”_

The fabricated replica was a feeble imitation of the original armor piece.

His first instinct was to destroy it--smash it to pieces but he resisted the temptation.

He had to be wise as well as cunning in such a matter if he wanted to avenge his mother properly.

For the time being patience was his most formidable foe.

He hunched over the stand,shoulders rising and falling.

In a flash of black, Ben left his chambers and stomped to the training hall—crossguard flaming.

Troopers awaited the spontaneous sparring session ordered by their Supreme Leader.

They stared at each other—knees buckling then at the deranged menace approaching them.

With a face hidden behind a mussed curtain of hair he charged in .

 

 

\-----

 

 

After failing to reach Ben via Comlink the previous day, Rey was concerned.

She left the Command Center chewing at her fingers as she retreated back to her quarters.

 

She and Finn had discussed the logistics of her role in destroying an entire fleet of First Order Warships.

The magnitude of unnecessary bloodshed abruptly set in.

Her participation in their sacred cause would be catastrophic.

Having to call upon the darkness to activate their prime weapons soured her stomach and crawled her skin.

She promised to help but taking life so indiscriminately would only feed the evil stirring within.

There were no winners in a war. None.

 

Back in the solace of her subterranean quarters, Rey snuggled her pillow sniffing it; Ben’s spicy essence lingered in the downy material.

She let her shields down in anticipation of Ben contacting her through their bond. It was weeks since it flowed through her and even longer since she surrendered to the convergence of meditation. She tossed her pillow on the bed, closed her eyes and searched the Force for his signature...

 

There was a distant impression of him far away but it was shrouded in darkness.

 

“Oh Please not again,“she lamented. Her energy brushed at his curling around it--the bond burst wide open.

 

“Rey?” His breaths were short and heavy.

 

“I’m here.”

 

He turned on his heels, eyes everywhere, “Why can’t I see you?”

 

“I don’t know. I’m not doing anything this time.”

 

He froze. Sensing...“Who’s with you?”

 

“No one, I’m alone.”

 

“No. Someone’s there...” he panicked

 

Silence.

 

“Rey?”

 

Dead Air

 

“Rey!”He groped futilely in front of him, feeling for her.

 

No answer...

 

“Oh it’s you again.” she hissed.

 

“Sweetheart,you’re scaring me.”

 

“Oh now you’re afraid... You filthy murderer.”

 

“I...Rey?”

 

“I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

 

“What!” he gasped, breathlessly.

 

“I want this thing out of me!” She screamed.

 

“I’m coming for you Rey, please wait for me.”

 

“No! I’ll rip it out myself!” she roared.

 

“NOOOO! Please don’t! Gods Rey No!” he cried hoarsely.

 

He used the Force to speak directly to her signature.

 

 _Rey?_ he pleaded.

 

Nothing

 

 _Rey hear me_  

 

 _Ben? Please help me_ Her signature was ragged and unstable.

 

 _I’m trying sweetheart,hold on_ , telling her how could jeopardize everything.

 

Rey’s nose bled as she summoned the darkness to aid her in closing the bond.

The darkness was like a festering disease,metastasizing through every corner of her mind.

Everytime she got a grip on its fringes to close their bond—it withdrew from her grasp—surging open again.

Sensing his son’s determined spark to reunite with him,Ben encouraged the baby to wield his developing power through their link.

 

A blinding glare of white light exploded through the force bond and he was teleported into an inky room.

 

A slinking presence snarled its disapproval,yellow eyes glowed diabolically through the blackness...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darkness rises and light to meet it...
> 
> Darkish Rey resurfaces... for a final bow.


	9. An Impasse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A note to sensitive readers* There are brief references to fetal violence.

Ben’s footsteps were calculated as he tipped through the suffocating darkness.

The muffled clumping of his boots on the slate floor was the only audible disturbance in the bare space.

 

“Rey, I need to see you.”

 

Nothing.

 

“You’re the strongest,most stubborn person I know. Come to me,”he beckoned.

 

With a snarl a force hoisted him high and flung him into the iron door.

Ben shook the stars from his head and hauled himself up—only to be pinned back against the cold metal.

Slender fingers clamped around his throat, constricting the airways.

 

“First I will kill you, then I will kill this thing you put in me,” a raspy voice spewed from the shadows.

 

He choked, “No you won’t! You’re a child of the Force, you were meant for more than this.”

 

“Shut up Skywalker! I am your Master now.”

 

“—Ugh!” He was struck by a lightning bolt in the heart crumbling him to the ground, he gripped his left chest.

 

Ben’s eyes were wild, searching fiercely for the invisible antagonist.

He was versed enough in the deceptive nature of the Darkside that he knew negotiating with her; like this would never work.

Only the light could dissuade her from the destructive path she was on.

 

 

\-----

 

 

He recovered his composure and called upon the light, targeting his energy into Rey’s deviant force print. He concentrated—visualizing his love for her as a physical, all encompassing entity...He discharged the unbridled power source through the Force and into her, causing it to decimate every defense she had erected.

Ben was careful to guide his son who mimicked him, and in turn poured what he recognized as love and affection into his mother.

The glottal voice bellied a defeated growl and the Mosaic’s light beamed through the black room. Silence punctuated shock as he gawked up at Rey.

She was glued helplessly to the concave ceiling—her yellow eyes flickering red down at him.

Black sleeves stretched skyward and Rey was lowered into the open arms.

Restricted from accessing the Force, the evil visage of darkness still wanted to affirm its dominance but was chastened into submission by the Light.

 

“The Force tethered us together,I won’t let it destroy you as it once did my grandfather: I will always protect you.” He peered deep into her eyes, covering her hands with his.

 

_Ben what’s happening to me?_

 

He wrapped her in his arms,  _you must learn to balance your power, dark and light._

 

_I can’t_

 

 _You must...I did_  , He kissed the top of her head as the muted light from her stomach faded and her eyes flickered hazel again.

 

She met his covetous gaze with an awkward sigh-he tilted his head down and nipped at her lips softly.

 

 

\-----

 

 

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

 

There was a metallic rapping on the iron door.

 

“Rey is everything ok? I’m coming in.”

 

Ben flinched at hearing Finn’s sing-song voice and broke their heated kiss.

Finn halted at the sight of him embracing Rey full on with slick lips.

 

“What the—?” Finn trained his blaster at his head, a grimace souring his features.

 

Ben nudged Rey behind him squaring his broad shoulders.

He and Finn glared razors at each other.

 

“How did **you** get here?” Finn was about to signal for backup.

 

“The Force brought him to me,”she yelled, positioning herself beside him. She twined her fingers with his longer ones.

 

On instinct, Finn fired for Ben’s head—the shot was deflected and Finn flew into the stone wall.

 

“Enough!” Rey gestured to Ben with a raised hand, eyes flickering.

 

She crouched down next to Finn, he nursed the back of his head and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

 

She brushed her knuckles over his pitted cheek,"I’m so sorry Finn.”

 

 _I’m so sorry Finn?!_  Finn had just tried to kill him and here she was coddling him...putting the hands that delicately caressed him on this...this stocky man.

 

Resentment flashed in Ben’s eyes and jealousy invigorated the ghost of Kylo Ren. Darkness rioted through him, tempting him to force snap Finn’s neck...but he fought the insatiable urge and ignored the pull to the dark.

 

“Let us leave in peace and no harm will come to you or your men,” Ben offered extending a hand.

 

Finn raised an eyebrow, staring between Ben and Rey as if he were in the wrong galaxy.

His eyes fell to Ben’s waiting hand. Indecisive.

 

“I’m sure you know by now that I didn’t kill your wife.” Ben’s inflection was smoothly cordial.

 

He took Ben’s hand and was hefted up,”yeah so I heard. I still hate your guts though.”

 

“I know.”

 

 

\-----

 

 

**Hours Later**

 

The two men topped off a hearty meal of Nerf Steak burgers and drank their fill of brewed Lager.

Ben inspected the wet label on his third beer with a distracted thumb.

 

“It seems your band of resistance pirates made off with quite a substantial amount of First Order booty,”his tone was neutral.

 

“Yeah that and the fuel,”Finn chuckled.

 

“What do you think your men would say if they knew you were hosting The Supreme Leader?” he droned without egotism.

 

“Woo, I don’t want to think about it,” he said with haste, drumming fidgety fingers on the table.

 

Rey’s appetite was neither here nor there as she cradled baby Paige in her arms.

The baby cooed and cuddled into Rey’s blooming bosom, gumming a finger intently.

 

Finn pointed with the top of his bottle and picked at his teeth,“sorry about that, I think she’s teething.”

 

Ben’s heart swelled in his chest as he witnessed Rey in a maternal setting for the first time—his face shone with promise and tenderness.

 

He sensed her repressed consternation,  _Don’t worry Sweetheart, you’ll be an excellent mother_ , he reassured.

 

She sobbed, _Don’t lie to me! How can I be if I might hurt my own child_.

 

Clueless of their connection, Finn reached for the baby,“Rey is everything ok?” she nodded, handing Paige over the table to her father.

 

“We should go,”Ben rose impatiently.

 

Finn threw Rey a look,”what about what we discussed?” he whispered at a conspiratorial level.

 

“Finn,I can’t,you have to trust me.” Ben looked between the two blankly in the sudden climate of controlled tension.

 

“But Rey!” he grunted, giving her a telepathic shove with his eyes.

 

“Finn, remember there’s always another way.” She embraced him sideways, squeezing his arm and planting a kiss on the crown of Paige’s curly head.

 

Ben’s body tensed and cheek twitched, glaring at their exchange in forced silence.

 

She held Finn's shoulders staunchly,“I don’t want anymore blood on my hands, it won’t bring any of them back.”

 

He nodded his agreement, pained eyes full of unshed tears,”save what you love huh?” He tucked the baby’s head under his chin; Self betrayal knotting his face.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The shuttle whizzed through hyperspace, trajectory set for The Chrelythiumn system. It should take a few days to reach the Monolith as long as there weren’t any unplanned interruptions in their hyperlane.

They may need to improvise an alternative jump-route if the situation arose.

Ben was still perturbed after Rey shared the heinous plan she and Finn had contrived against The First Order.

Her ultimate decision did appease him to some degree but his irritation was palpable.

 

“I don’t want us keeping secrets,” he scolded, analyzing a new holo-scan of the baby.

 

“That’s hardly possible with the bond.” She propped up on her elbows, tilting her head at the shifting image.

"He’s been in the breech position for almost a week now,”she added, chewing her lip.

 

Ben’s Adam’s apple sunk.The baby was obviously too big to turn at this point, he kept his alarm concealed behind his shields.

 

“That’s not fair Ben,” she protested, sitting up and distorting the scan.

 

“What?” His voice was brash and brow creased.

 

“No secrets, yet every chance you get you push me out.” She straightened up and held his arm as she dismounted the gurney—wrinkling her nose at him as she left.

 

He watched after her as she waddled into the fresher. She was right but he still needed lots of work. He wasn’t used to sharing all aspects of his life with another person. It would take time. Time he might not have...

The Council of General’s was jettisoned from the back of his mind in light of his current circumstances.

He would need to find a way to meet with them in a few days.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey tossed and turned in the crew cabin. Ben insisted she rest in the captain’s quarters where she had more space and a private refresher but she refused, still prickly from their spat earlier.

She needed a little distance for more reasons than one.

Rey pondered on all of the abominable, unforgivable threats she made about Ben and their unborn son. She deduced that she wasn’t fit to be his mother or anyone else’s—ever.

He probably hated her for it she sniffed. She was an incorrigible disappointment in her own eyes, Ben was far better off without her too.

He certainly wouldn’t have a problem finding someone else, he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

 

Her pitiful musings projected loudly to Ben.

 

 _Gods Rey!  For Force sake.  Stop it!  It won’t help_. Ben sent from the pilot’s seat.

 

_Be  honest, you’re  disappointed  in  me, aren’t  you?_

 

He left the cockpit and swung the hatch door to the cabin open with the Force.

She lie weeping, curled up on her side, her pillow snug between her thighs.

The weight of his warm body settled next to her as he soothed with warm circles on her tummy.

 

“No I’m not. How can I be? You chose me,”he consoled.

 

She cried into her hands,”I can’t control it! Suppose I hurt him or you?”

 

He gripped her hand to help her up and into his arms. “You won’t, I’m sure of it.”

He cupped her face, in his hand staring intensely as an eye flickered yellow. “Fear leads to the darkside, don’t give into it.”He pressed his lips on her forehead and wiped a tear away with the pad of his thumb. She gave a dispirited nod.

”Tell me. When did this start?”He zeroed in on the glassy eye that twinkled hazel.

 

Her face sunk into a sallow frown.The wound was still raw. **A traumatizing memory was branded on the surface of her damaged soul:**

_The phantom of Kylo Ren cursing the day he met her and vowing to kill her for invoking the spirit of the “mewling boy”._

_That wintry day on Hoth, Kylo had force choked her_

_into_ _unconsciousness and left her to die. He was so possessed by the darkside that he never sensed the devastation he exacted on her psyche or that she was even_

 _pregnant. She and_ _Ben had agreed to rendezvous,she had planned to tell him about the baby—instead she was affronted by Kylo Ren who viciously intercepted._

 

“When he took you away from me, I needed a way to cope so I let—” she shrugged feebly.

 

“—the darkness in,” he finished for her. A tear rolled down the crevice of his scar, the shared memory dissecting him.

”I...I’m here now. I’m not leaving you. Only death can separate us.” His gaze was full of remorse. "I love you Rey. You mean everything to me.”

 

His words calmed her and his impassioned eyes transported her in that moment.

Ben’s mouth watered to taste her lips as he swiped a fresh stream of tears away from her cheek.

He leaned in bringing his mouth to hers. Their kiss was slow and salty, it wrenched a throaty moan from him as he drank her needy mouth dry.

She broke their kiss straddling his lap and stripping her torso bare.

 

“You’re the only person I’ve ever loved,”she confessed, sucking on his ear as he groaned.

In a flash his chest was also bare.

Her quick fingers found his nipples, she pinched and  twisted them, sending shockwaves of pleasure directly to his core.

 

”Mmmmm.”

 

He was entranced by her breasts, they hung on her tummy like ripe fruit, ready to be plucked...sucked and...He couldn’t resist—he bowed his head and licked her left nipple gently.

 

“No Ben, they hurt,”she pleaded.

 

He was fixated on tasting them,“let me try this—” he curled his tongue on the tip of her pebbled nipple—she whimpered.

He lathed the other the same way and she grabbed at his hair--he raised her up with one hand while pulling his trousers and tights off with the other-- placing her firmly on his lap.

His throbbing arousal jumped against her belly speckling it with his readiness.

Ben tugged at her underthings tearing the sides off and tossing the scrap of cloth on the ground. His finger probed until it found her slippery center, she jerked her hips upwards.

 

“What are you doing?” she moaned as a second digit entered her heat.

 

“What does it feel like? Has it been so long?”

 

His saliva dripped off of her nipples as he granted them more attention. She pressed down hard on his hand her passion building, as she used his shoulders for support.

 

“But you won’t fit!” she panted in his ear--getting closer.

He grunted,lapping at her rock hard nipples. “I did before.” A third finger and she bucked into his hand, yanking at his hair and sucking the blood out of his neck as she rode out her orgasm.

 

Her breaths were short and quick, “but I...I’m swollen there,”she whined, returning to herself.

 

“Mmhmm.”

 

He pressed inside her tightness slow--gripping his thick base to avoid thrusting too deep--He supported his weight with an arm behind him to allow himself more access to her secret spot, angling so she accommodated him better--He found a smooth rhythm that she was comfortable with--She was getting so hot and slick, he used the Force to prevent himself from ramming up into her and finishing before her.

As soon as she started keening the pleading noises he sped up.

A sticky sheen of sweat covered their skin amplifying the slapping sounds his feverish pace made--he held on by a thread--his legs were almost in the splits as he pumped into her--satiating her prolonged climatic end. She dug her nails into his arms for purchase--a complete and utter wreck.

He thrust to the hilt inside her unintentionally hitting her cervix--with a primal growl his release uncoiled and erupted out of him filling her to the brim.

A forceful gush of clear fluid pushed his twitching shaft out from her warm, pulsing walls--splashing all over the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, what have they gotten themselves into...


	10. Fare Thee Well

_A forceful gush of clear fluid pushed his twitching shaft out from her warm pulsing walls--splashing all over the floor._

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben’s jaw dropped and eyes saucered.

 

“Rey your water broke!” he shouted wildly, his naked body scrambling from underneath her.

 

“Are you sure?” she inspected with a hand. He supported her to her feet.

 

“Are you having any pain?” he whipped on his trousers and shirt.

 

“Ben!” her frustration mounting.

 

“Yes Rey, yes it broke!”he helped her into her tunic and left the leggings on the floor.

 

”Are you having any pain?” his voice cracked.

 

“No I’m not. Maker,what are we going to do?”she rubbed her tummy nervously ogling the puddle at her bare feet.

 

He shook his head to clear it,”we need to have the droid examine you.”he held her elbows and steered her to the front of the spacecraft.

 

“Stop pushing me,you big bantha!” she yelled in protest.

 

He shadowed behind her breathing urgent huffs and puffs.

 

Ben stacked up hours studying pregnancy-vids but when faced with the real possibility of delivering his own son, his confidence was disintegrating to space dust.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The EM-D Unit beeped diagnostics—Rey was in early labor, the holo-projection showed minimal effacement and dilation.

 

”I’ll use the Force to postpone the labor until we arrive on Mortis. If that doesn’t work we may h...have to prepare for him here.”he held his head with both hands.

 

Rey reached a hand out to him, he took it wearily in his, avoiding eye contact. “If anything happens to either of you—”his chin wobbled.

 

“We could turn back…”

 

“No!” He snapped, mellowing just as quick. “somehow it seems the Force is behind all of this. We’ll remain on course.”

 

She searched his signature but his shields were sky high.

 

“Ben please don’t shut me out...I need you.”

 

He read her blood pressure which was spiked high.“Now is not a good time,” is all he mustered.

 

She rolled her eyes at him, his eyes fell to the floor attuned to only she and the baby’s rapid heartbeats thrumming from the monitor.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey rested in a reclined position on a mountain of pillows in the captain’s quarters. Ben had helped her into a clean pair of underthings, she added the disposable padding as a precautionary measure.

The EM-D Unit ran a uterine scan every hour as it monitored her progress or lack thereof.

She closed out a holo-vid of Finn and baby Paige blabbing happily, she lay the blinking device on the bed with a hopeful sigh.

The life within her roused from its slumber and a premonition passed her eyes in a blink: _An image of Ben with their son together ,but she was absent from the merry memory._

She was careful not to dwell on it, not wanting the grip of fear to entangle her into a downward spiral of darkness.

Ben’s boots clunked along the floor as he paced between the crew lounge and their cabin. It had already been two day cycles since Rey’s water broke—two gruelling cycles of worry and sleeplessness.

_As Rey had slept fitfully, he calmed her with back rubs and light kisses on her neck, shoulders and tummy. He whispered beseechingly to their son against Rey’s stomach_

_,begging him to wait but tendrils of restive energy clogged the connection. As light snores had escaped Rey's parted mouth his eyes widened in wonder,watching his son's_

_knees or elbows glide under the skin of her taut belly. He tickled at the appendages with a finger, half smirking when the child would suddenly recoil under his affections..._

 

“Ow!” Rey cried out.

 

Ben rounded the corner, dark rimmed eyes sharp and wide,”what is it Rey?" she was perched on the edge of the bed holding her stomach, face twinging from what appeared to be her first contraction.

 

He shook his head vigorously,"No this is all wrong, I’ve been using the Force to stop it!”

 

She met his pitiable eyes,“Ben, you might have slowed it down but you can’t stop it…he’s ready to see us.” He gave a steely nod, his face falling into somber lines.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben slumped on the floor at the foot of the bed, head bowed, a sense of failure coursing through his rigid body.

He gripped his bent knees so tightly that his scabbed knuckles were white. He released his grip on his knees, skimming over words on a piece of paper. He refolded the coarse sheet of paper and pocketed it surreptitiously.

Rey padded from the fresher to the bed and hovered over him, placing a reluctant hand on his tense shoulder.

 

He spoke without lifting his head. “How are you?”he grumbled.

 

She hesitated before answering,“there’s a bit more blood than before.” she scooched beside him on the bed.

 

“You’re dilating,” he added in a tone of unutterable weariness.

 

“Yes,I think so. The pain is getting worse.”

 

He scrubbed his chin scruff with the back of his hand,”another day’s cycle should put us right by Mortis.”

 

She stroked his hair,scraping the pads of her fingers along his scalp;he leaned into her touch resting his head on her lap and closing his eyes. Being near Rey this way brought him an immeasurable peace nothing else could.

 

Time crawled by...

 

“Ben?”

 

“Mmhmm?”

 

“Do you ever regret...having him?” her voice wavered.

 

He stiffened snatching his head out of her hands sending flames,”what? Why would you say such a thing?” He jumped to his feet.

 

She began innocently,“sometimes, it seems you’d prefer—”

 

“Never!” he glared with a pained, angry sneer. “I think you’re the one who didn’t want him,” he spat petulantly, turning away from her and stalking outside the cabin.

 

He expected a fiery rebuttal but got eerie silence instead. The short gasps of Rey breathing through a contraction drew him back to himself.

 

He darted over to her rubbing her lower back to help her through the pain. “Forgive me, I shouldn’t have said that.” He checked the chrono on the wall, the contractions were five minutes apart—he bit down on his lip.

 

Damn it!

 

 

\-----

 

 

**Three Hours Later:**

 

“No I don’t want it!”

 

“But it will help you with the pain.”he reasoned—hands flailing in the air, at his wits end.

 

She growled through a clenched jaw,”I. Said. No!”

 

Ben moved Rey to the Trauma compartment and back on the gurney where essential medical instruments were readily available. She changed into a free flowing med-gown that tented over her tummy.

He demanded she take a mild sedative but she refused; he wanted it more to calm her restless nerves than for the actual pain, she rejected his demands opting to saunter throughout the shuttle at her leisure.

For the sake of serenity he let her be.

He dashed off into their cabin to find something more practical and sanitary for an expecting father. He found two options folded on top of a closet; a stack of white T-shirts and a stack of black: he chose one of the latter.

 

“The closer we get to Mortis, the faster time will go,” he warned, adjusting the undersized shirt over his trail of abdominal hair.

 

“Yes I’ve heard about it.”

 

“From Luke?” he scoffed.

 

“No the Jedi—” she braced forward on Ben’s chest and arm for support, blowing through a stronger contraction—he held her firmly no longer able to hide his escalating anxiety.

 

“Are you alright?” he pressed gently into the small of her back.

She nodded, easing her grip on his arm as the pain subsided. She made her way to the galley to appease a craving before entering the cockpit and settling into the co-pilot’s seat.

Through the viewport the blur of hyperspace was veiled by a glowing light. It flashed into glitter creating a prismatic array of spotty sparkles,

 

Rey was in awe of the luminous display. Ben watched after her.”It’s Ionic Interference. I’ll be right there.”

 

He stood near the gurney, preparing miniature items of clothing and blankets for its impatient little occupant. He added various items for Rey and the baby into an emergency pack,just in case the delivery were to venture beyond the shuttle. He took another glance at oxygen levels,breather masks, clean linens,syringes and finally eyed the airtight instruments he might have to use on Rey—a burdened sigh shuddered in his chest.

 

 

\-----

 

 

“It’s so beautiful,” she remarked while sucking cold Whilk’s milk from a pouch.

 

Ben stared at her intently, impartial to the illuminated viewport beyond the bow, "not as beautiful as you,” he hummed with hooded eyes.

 

She choked on her milk with a chuckle.

 

His brows knitted,“why do you do that? Whenever I compliment you, you find it trite. It angers me.” He eyed the chronometer at the center of the console.

 

“Oh don't be cross. I know you’re serious. I..I’m just not used to it.”

 

The pouch of milk splattered on the floor as she braced on the arms of the co-pilot's chair.Her contractions were now three minutes apart and the pain was becoming unbearable.

 

“I think I’d like that sedative now,” she panted off the last of the rippling pain.

 

Ben brooded behind her seat massaging her neck with his calloused fingers.

The Med Unit tottered beside them.

It bleated a reading that went unnoticed--a flash of purple light sparked in his eye--he gripped Rey’s shoulders protectively as the shuttle shuddered into realspace.

They gazed, spellbound by the quadrangled monolith suspended boldly in the foreground of black space—dominating the sky ahead of them.

Every instrument and computer on the spacecraft blinked and beeped in protest to the entity that controlled the ship.

 

Rey shrank back into her seat trembling, "what’s happening?”

 

“It's the Force. It's guiding us into Mortis, we can’t enter without it.” He took a wide stance as the shaking continued.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Inhale-exhale-inhale-exhale...Rey maintained her rhythm while the droid began a scan.

Ben was sweating crystals as he steadied her on the cot before him.The projection of the holo-scan revealed 80% effacement and 7 centimeters of dilation.

 

“I need to push!” she screamed, digging her fingernails into the flesh of his forearm.

 

“No Sweetheart, not yet.”he calmed in an authoritative voice. She cut murderous eyes at him, breathing sharply out of her mouth.

He held her in place and strapped her in on the cot with dexterous efficiency in preparation for landing. A blinding white light sliced through the ship as it was navigated into the force field of the monolith. Quaking reverberated through the hull, the vibration travelled from the floor up his boots.

Ben shielded Rey from the falling apparatus as the shuttle descended through the turbulent static. The terrified expression in her eyes moved him to tears.

 

“I can’t hold it any longer…” she strained.

 

He shook his head and mouthed “no,” but Rey took no heed...

 

She wielded the Force popping every strap that restrained her--parted her knees and started bearing down.

 

“No!” He was thrown to the floor as the shuttle landed on the surface of Mortis. He clambered to his feet as quick as he could, frantic eyes locked on Rey.

 

Her breaths were choppy and there was a seeping stream of blood trickling from her.

 

“Rey!” he cried, stretching for her. He pulled her into his chest, placing the breather over her face.

 

The Mosaic glowed brighter than ever under her gown, he sniffled a tear away,raising the gown. The ancient glyphs within the Mosaic transformed into the image of a blazing altar, the Force was leading them there, he sensed it was the only thing that contained the answers that would help his family.

Rey’s signature and that of his child was in a mystifying state of limbo.

 

The only hope of his galaxy was the beacon of light gleaming through Rey.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben swooped Rey’s trembling body into his arms, the weight of his family was physically inconsequential.

 

The emotional weight he carried in comparison however had the impact of an exploding supernova.

 

He tramped down the exit ramp with mortal determination on his face and ruthless resolve in his steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you beautiful people who take the time to sub, comment and kudo!!
> 
> Comments=Credits  
> Kudos=Portions  
> Subs=Hugs
> 
>  
> 
>  


	11. The Exchange

Ben stenched through the thermal wind opposing him. The sharp lines of his face set. Unyielding.

The terrestrial landscape was dreamlike— hypnotically buoyant mountains skimmed the clouds above.

Fluorescent flora blanketed the terrain of the breathable planet.

The ethereal world of Mortis was unlike anything he’d ever seen.

Time raced by at a disorienting velocity, causing a haze of inertia to overtake him.

All of the ancient tomes and holocrons he once studied hadn’t prepared him sufficiently for what lie before him.

 

Rey’s head rested against his chest; her oxygen breather lightly fogged by shallow exhalations.

He kept her stomach exposed, allowing the glyphs that changed every few minutes to order his steps up through the vertiginous mist.

 

“Father...” A child’s voice chased in the wind like a whisper. Ben’s head jerked around in vain: he couldn’t tell if the voice came from near or far.

 

His child nesting inside Rey was chillingly quiet—not being able to sense him or Rey was worrisome.

Both of their force prints wandered astray in the planet’s magnetically charged environment .

Here, the Force was exponentially amplified as it surged in and through him.

He couldn't tell if she was in labor or not, but something certainly was different— something beyond the scope of his finite understanding.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The stealth shuttle was planted on the inclined shoulder of a mountain summit, a few meters from a treacherous ledge that fell into an abyss.

Ben adjusted Rey’s weight in his arms and he plodded toward the primitive monastery towering on the mountain top. At the apex of the monstrous sanctuary a diamond shaped crystal beamed its welcoming presence at them.

In this extraordinary place, the Cosmic Force flowed so strongly that one could almost sense the essence of every living thing in the galaxies all at once.

Ben’s eyes fell to Rey’s stomach which was bathed in a pure blue radiance.

The altar appeared only as a hallucinatory image at first...but...it instantly transformed into the actual altar—right before his eyes!

Ben stood before it perplexed but grateful that time on Mortis was in another stratum of existence; it ran parallel to what he understood as his reality.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben lay his precious Rey safely at the foot of the altar; the light radiating from her stomach matched the luminosity of the glowing sanctum.

The glyphs on the reflective surface of the altar shifted into four symbols that Ben was incapable of enciphering. The four symbols coalesced, forming a new mosaic image.

One that was branded as an emblem.

 

He knelt before her searching desperately for her signature as he cupped her head in his hand.

Their force connection was deathly silent—her breaths getting slower.

And what of his child?

He couldn’t sense the little flare of hope anywhere in the Force either.

Their absence left a painful void only they could fill.

Ben wore the haunted look of a man in critical need of a miracle.

 

He plunged his tormented face into her bosom wailing shamelessly. “Rey, where are you my love?” he choked between sobs.

 

Moving darkness caught the corner of his eye. He raised his messy head and pivoted on his knees toward it…

 

 

\-----

 

 

A vague shadow emerged in the form of a hooded figure, it glared milky eyes down at him. “Benjamin Solo,” the figure rasped in sobered acknowledgement.

 

Ben’s tear stained face scanned over the nameless wraith as he arose. He sensed no contention in the stranger through the Force.

 

“Please. Help her,” he begged, his strained voice croaking.

 

“I cannot. Only one born of the Force can save her.”

 

“I refuse to watch her die!” rage worked in his face and his body tensed like iron.

 

A shrill sound split the atmosphere...he snapped his attention back to Rey.

 

Diving back down on his knees, he removed the breather from her mouth. “Rey?”

 

She screamed again and a trickle of fluid flowed out from her; it gave off a pungent coppery odor.

An upsurge of panic grabbed Ben as he was keenly aware that she had regained consciousness and was about to give birth to their son.

He slipped the pack from his back and snatched out clean blankets, placing one under her head and another under her hips—he removed her underthings in the process.

 

He spread his large hands over Rey’s stomach summoning the light within to bend to his will.

With eyes shut tight his hand moved in a semi-circular motion, he carefully repositioned his child head first in her womb.

 

“Sweetheart never do that again. Don’t you ever leave me,” he crooned, relief and anger inflected in his tone. She panted, her trembling elbows now supporting her.

 

The wraith stood in a corner inconspicuously observing behind its drawn hood—it shared a skeptical glance with Ben.

 

Rey was hyperventilating as she pushed, he returned the oxygen to her mouth in haste. A wet sloshing sound came out from her—he was about to investigate it when a familiar voice shushed, interrupting him.

 

“It’s ok son, stay with Rey. I’ll take care of him.”

 

 

\-----

 

 

Leia’s hand held the baby’s head. As he crowned she guided a rounded shoulder carefully out of the birth canal. Shocked silence overcame Ben in that enduring moment as he sensed her using the Force.

His face went pasty white, gawking at his mother with her brilliant dark eyes.

 

“Ben, she needs to push again,” Leia instructed sternly.

 

Wasting no time, he rushed behind Rey. Her back was supported with his chest and he held her hands in his.

 

He whispered firmly in her ear.“He’s almost here Sweetheart, one more big push,” he encouraged.

 

Amusement flashed across Leia’s face upon hearing the familial endearment from her son. Rey bore down and gave it everything—her screeching howl alarmed Ben before she collapsed against him limply.

A squeaky cry pierced through the air, travelling from the chancel all the way through the halls of the monastery.

Leia rested their squirming son on Rey’s tummy. A wide grin met a tear of accomplishment as she marvelled at her first grandchild.

Ben’s eyes fell upon his wrinkled son and he melted at the squiggling human he helped to create. The child was a healthy size with the lungs of an acclaimed songster,Ben mused with the twitch of his lip;

Rey’s breathing slowed and when he lifted his eyes to thank his mother, she had vanished.

 

“Mother!” he called into the space where she knelt— his crooked smile chased away by sudden bereavement.

 

He laid Rey’s head down gently and clutched his slippery son, wiping him with a clean cloth. He scooped the fussy babe in one large hand while the other searched the bag for a pair of snips...he must have misplaced the sealed package. Damn it!

He needed to think fast. He lay the baby beside his mother’s thigh and unclipped the hilt of his saber off of his trouser’s waist band.

 

“You’re not going to like this,” he muttered to the baby, activating the crossguard.

 

Swallowing a moon-sized lump in his throat—he tightened his grip and used the heat from the saber’s lateral vent, to cauterize the umbilical cord.

The baby cried earnestly now, startled by the sound of ignition from the sputtering weapon.

 

He extinguished the saber, tossing the hilt into the bag with a face pinched with scorn. His saber’s significance suddenly diminished and forsaken for a baby boy who would one day call him " _Father"_.

 

“There there...all done,” Ben soothed kissing his newborn on the forehead while drying his damp feathery hair.

 

He swaddled his son and crooked him in his arm to attend to Rey.

 

He leaned over brushing his lips over Rey’s forehead and cheek. “Thank you,” he smiled at her.

 

Rey’s breaths quickened wrenching him from his reverie.

 

“Ben, I have to push again,” she whimpered hoarsley into the breather.

 

He viewed holo-vids where the placenta often brought additional pain and a massage helped to deliver it.

 

He kneaded her stomach in circles to help her along. “Is this better?” he continued massaging. She shook her head  and stretched her fingers toward their son.

 

He brought the baby’s face against hers, removing the breathing mask so she could kiss him.

 

“You did marvelous!” his voice shot up an octave.

 

“He’s finally here,” she said, a weak smile ghosting her cracked lips.

 

Ben was concerned about her deteriorating countenance. His mouth drooped into a long frown.

 

What happened to his grandmother would not happen to Rey, he vowed to himself biting into his lip until he tasted blood.

 

 

\-----

 

 

After what felt like hours of massaging, Rey still had not delivered the afterbirth and the baby sniffed restlessly in search of nourishment.

 

“Instead of just standing there, why don’t you make yourself useful,” Ben snapped at the looming wraith.

 

“There’s the spark of your grandfather,”The Wraith sniggered.

 

“Who are you anyway?” he growled.

 

“I am no one,”it responded evenly.

 

“What aren’t you telling me?”Ben narrowed his eyes into slits.

 

“Your wife will die,”it said bluntly, its monastic robes dragging along the floor.

 

“What? No she won’t! And she’s not my—not yet,”he dabbed sweat from Rey’s clammy face and neck.

 

“Ah boy. How naive.”The wraith tutted. “When the Force joined you, you became one.”

It ambled closer to where Rey’s head lay.”You were married by the Force the very moment your minds merged. No letter of divorcement will ever separate you two—in this life or the one after.”

 

Ben’s jaw dropped. This unravelling enigma only confirmed what he sensed to be true. He couldn’t articulate the mystery of what he and Rey shared, it was a veritable fact that he somehow always knew.

Rey was barely breathing, her hand gripped Ben’s fingers in an attempt to stay near him. In her weakened state her fingers slipped from his.

His breath hitched and panic surged...

 

He cradled his son against his chest, his large hand splayed over the baby’s head and body. “How can I help her?” he seethed, his desperation pushing him to the brink of madness.

"She’s dying! I sense it!” he rose to his feet heaving.

 

The baby wailed in distress. He jerked the fingers of his free hand in the air and the wraith gasped for breath.

 

“Careful Skywalker...The dark is forbidden here,” it wheezed.

 

“Tell me how to save my wife!”he released the withering wraith.

 

Clearing its throat the wraith threw the hood off its head revealing the head and face of a Mirialan humanoid, Ben was unable to discern whether it was male or female.

Its olive skin was paper thin and it appeared more than one hundred standard years.

 

“I was an acolyte of Anakin Skywalker during and after The Clone Wars. It is my duty to remain here for all eternity. I have earned this honored privilege.”

 

It gestured a tattooed hand down at Rey solemnly. “Your wife used her life’s source to save your child."

It shook its head grimIy,"I am afraid that she has nothing left.”

 

Ben gently pat the screaming infant on the back."But he’s here and he’s fine...why is she...dying?” he shouted, nostrils flaring.

 

Remembering he held his son in his arms, he harnessed his emotions as best he could. He tried to calm the baby with bouncy movements but it did little to pacify the hungry child—his eyes were glued on Rey.

Useless that’s what he was.

She needed more than him, he couldn’t even help his child.

What a pathetic excuse of a man he was...

 

“Ssh,”Ben stroked a long finger over the baby’s quivering lips as he bawled undeterred—miraculously, the babe sucked it in his mouth quieting.

 

“There is another life hidden within her but barely alive.”

 

“What?”Ben’s eyes flitted wildly between Rey and The Acolyte.

 

“The only way to save your wife and your other child within her womb is to give your own life’s source to them.”

The Acolyte’s features contorted into a grave snarl. “Are you willing to exchange your life for theirs?”

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben babbled gibberish in a temporary state of lunacy.

He processed the weight of what he faced... Rey was dying because she had sacrificed herself for their child—no _their_ _children_. She was pregnant with their twins all this time and in order to save her and his unborn child, he would have to sacrifice his own life.

He took in Rey’s near comatosed state cursing every wrong decision that led them here... to this crossroad of depredation.

 

Maybe this was finally retribution for all of the atrocities that he had inflicted upon the galaxy.

 

Or maybe this was recompense for killing his father and for being explicitly drawn and manipulated by the Darkside: serving Snoke and being his disgraceful pawn.

 

For falling in love with a woman he never deserved.

 

And for bringing forth innocent children that were better off without him—a murderer as their father.

 

He brought his son’s soft golden crown under his nose burying it into the newborn scent. He held him close, basking in the admirable novelty of fatherhood.

His chest was tight with grief and he choked back a reservoir of unshed tears.

 

Ben kissed his son three times on his scrunched up forehead,"I love you O’Wan Solo.”

 

The dam finally broke releasing wet pellets of repressed pain disguised as tears. Ben gazed into his son’s unfocused blue eyes,"you will forget me,” he shuddered, compelling the baby with the jedi trick.

 

The infant cooed at his grieving face, oblivious to the mortal fate of his father. Ben kissed his thumb and placed it on the tip of O’Wan’s pink nose drawing him against his body again.

He didn’t want to let his child go, it was like tearing a piece of his heart away and shredding it to bits.

But this was fate and O’Wan would never be subjected to any of his feeble inadequacies.

 

It’s best he was forgotten, he didn’t deserve to be remembered by anyone.

 

He tucked the baby next to his mother. “What do I have to do?” he offered resolutely.

 

The Acolyte directed him to kneel down beside Rey and hold her hands. “Find your wife and your unborn child in the Force, connect with their signatures and the Force will lead you to them.”

 

Ben nodded, shutting his eyes and fell into a deep meditative trance: it propelled him through a transcendental portal.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben was seized by a cosmic storm that funneled him into a place that was a realm between the Netherworld of the Force and the physical plane of the galaxies—a visionary dimension of dreams.

It felt like a dream but his senses were alert, acute and alive.

 

The scenery around him changed and he stood near a brook that burbled into a waterfall shrouded by a hovering mist of rainbows.

 

"Rey!" he called as she splashed in ankle deep crystal waters.

 

There was a tugging sensation in his heart, his eyes fell to his chest. A red string protruded and it dangled down to the carpet of flowers underfoot.

He fiddled with the string which had a strong steady pulse.

It strummed as he followed it...

 

As he drew closer, giggles trilled from up ahead. Rey.. _. his Rey_ was radiant.  Exquisite! She was dressed in all white with a smile that warmed and filled his rueful soul.

 

The red string ran from her chest to his but his end had an active pulse, hers did not. She was unaware of his presence. He leered after Rey zealously— more in love with her than he ever dreamt possible.

 

She tipped out of the water, stooping in the field of flowers. Her face lit up as she beckoned to someone with a wave of her hand…

 

A little girl no more than three skipped through the flowers and into her arms.

The sight of his... ** _his_** daughter caused Ben’s heart to physically ache.

She resembled him when he was about her age, except she was so teeny and decidedly pretty.

 

"Father?" the tiny voice cried out with a wide grin as Rey spun her around.

 

Ben recognized her force signature right away. He was connected with her light of hope all along. She had inherited his force ability to cloak and therefore all they ever saw was her older brother.

She would become a powerful force user; an _adept anomaly_.

 

"Come here Little One." He crouched to her height, she flew into his arms bare feet fluttering like butterflies.

 

"Father!"she nuzzled under his neck, wrapping her wispy arms as far as they could go.

 

"My sweet girl," he kissed her cheek. “Let me look at you,” he beamed, kissing his thumb and tapping her upturned nose.

 

His chest was bursting with joy! The Force had blessed him with not one but two beautiful children.

 

Rey frowned down at him,"Ben, what are you doing here?"

 

He sprang to his feet,"I came for you My Love and for her." He hoisted his daughter up on his side and pulled Rey into him.

 

"No, please leave!" She pushed him away, her face stiffer than steel.

 

Pummeling him with tight fists, she screamed "Go Ben!"

 

He shook his head **no** leaning in to kiss her lips then the top his daughter’s halo of dark hair. "No Rey! O’Wan needs you. Go back to him."

 

He gazed upon her absolutely lovestruck—his poignant features brightening by her angelic beauty.

 

The adoration he possessed for his life partner undulated out of him wave after wonderful wave through the Force.

 

He smiled at his gorgeous girls a tear trail glistening the cheek that was once marred by a scar.

 

 

"Ben Solo, don’t you dare!" she shook his strong shoulders futilely.

"Don’t do this to me!"she hollered through an outburst of tears.

 

Their daughter held his ear, kissing his cheek in understanding.

 

Ben started to fade—as Rey’s end of the string pulsed to life.

 

He mouthed,  _I love you_   whilst Rey and their daughter both disappeared into a searing light...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a fair amount of EU/Legends lore in this chapter-in case you were wondering if I went off on a tangent.  
> Ouch! I hope it wasn't too harsh.. Remember, The Force has absolute power ;)
> 
> Just a few more chapters left...  
> I wrote a one shot called "Identics." Give it a go if you need a lttle humor after reading this.


	12. Beyond The Stars

 An explosion of light flashed and a throaty scream shrieked through the placidity as Rey bore down with all her might.

Her blood red face blew into the last contraction the labor inflicted.

The loss of Ben and the agony of birthing their second child took a toll on her physically and emotionally.

Leia had delivered their tiny daughter safely before dematerializing into The Netherworld of the Force.

Rey thanked her with sad eyes as she clutched her baby’s curled form to her chest.The little girl was underweight and severely malnourished for some reason.

 

The Acolyte approached bearing her son to her. It stooped placing O’Wan on her chest. “You can remain here as long as need be,” it said grimly.

 

Rey nodded, aware that she needed to depart for a more secure environment but the thought of leaving Mortis without Ben felt like someone was ripping her insides out.

How was she ever going to live without him?

She gave a slow glance over her shoulder, sensing the ubiquity of familiar auras…

 

Was she being watched?

 

 

\-----

 

 

Beyond a misty veil of fog, an unseen onlooker witnesses an unfolding scene:

One of Rey holding her tiny daughter minutes after giving birth. She bawls into the terry fabric of her baby’s blanket, her face agonized with pain and betrayal—her heart heavy with grief.

A small hand offers solace to the hunched shoulder as they continued to observe: the hand squeezes and a larger hand rests upon it.

A vacuum of turbulent silence pervades the expanse of light energy.

 

_Mother...it wasn’t me._

 

 _I know_   Leia Projected through the Force before disappearing.

 

Ben turned on his heels in search of her, instead he came face to face with his uncle who stood where she did seconds ago.

 

“I told you I’d see you around,” Luke taunted with sombered calm—the aching heartbreak apparent in his pale blue eyes.

 

“Where is Mother?” he spun again, searching—face sullen in deprivation.

 

“Let’s just say, she’s still fine tuning her skills as a force ghost,”Luke scuffed at his beard.

 

Ben was amazed that real flesh and bone replaced Luke’s mechanical hand.

 

“Is this how it is when you enter into the Force?” he surveyed the varying landscapes of alternating colors and the fluctuating distortions of sounds.

 

Luke gripped Ben’s arms,“ we were witnesses to the shift of galactic power.Your transition into the Force confirms that you have finally attained true balance!” Luke said, with the fervor of a hellacious zealot— more proud of Ben than he’d ever been of him in life.

 

“I don’t care about balance!” He tore away from Luke and pointed at Rey on the other side, now cradling both babies at her bosom. "I’ve abandoned my family...my children are fatherless! Are they made to suffer while I float about endlessly?” He bit out at no one in particular, pulling at his hair.

 

Luke gave a sidelong glance, weighing the impact of each word as if he was privy to something that Ben was not.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The Acolyte paused before bidding Rey a solemn farewell as it shambled down the loading ramp. “Madam, again please accept my most sincere condolences. May the Force be with you.”It bowed before merging with the creeping fog.

 

She would contact Finn as soon as she cleared her head enough. So much happened since they last spoke.

 

Everything felt so surreal, she seemed stuck in a nebulous cloud that wouldn’t go away.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey attempted to nurse her tiny daughter who was having issues latching on effectively. Rey cried in frustration every time the baby’s pursuit ended unsuccessfully.

The baby’s basic need to feed was not fulfilled.

What would happen to her if it wasn’t rectified soon?

She didn’t dare dwell on that fear—she couldn’t afford to.

While her daughter struggled to nurse, O’Wan on the other hand  drank his fill and slept peacefully swaddled in a bassinet at her feet.

 

“Darling please try again,”she coaxed the snuffling baby.

The baby’s attempt this time was as determined as the last: her eyes met her mother’s and her tiny mouth made its first latch. The suckle wasn’t strong but she was finally feeding. Rey smiled at her, brushing gentle fingers over her smooth dark crown. A mother!  She was now a mother who had no idea what she was doing but she was learning.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Because of the extreme passage of time on Mortis, Rey’s body healed significantly but her daughter was not progressing as fast as her brother.

She needed to get all of them to a medical facility as soon as she could. Her failure to thrive was a mystery considering she possessed force abilities mirroring those wielded by her father.

Rey gazed upon her child in awe: she never saw her in the womb.

How could this be?

The gravity of raising two children alone without her soulmate was setting in and it devastated her. Facing the future without him in it was unfathomable...

The Dark answered her doubts and tried to lure her into the same faithless trap, one where she would shut herself off from The Light and succumb to its harrowing treachery.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to die but she couldn’t leave: not with two newborn babies depending on her for their survival.

Ben would have wanted it—he would have wanted to know that his children survived and lived to their full potential—he died for them after all.

Rey wept silently while rubbing her daughter’s pinked brows. She was like an angel looking up at her besieging with her father’s dark eyes. So alert and intelligent. She nudged at Rey’s shields longing to connect with her mother again...Rey tried to protect her child from all of the anguished pain feasting on her soul like a parasite. She needed to shield her from the insurmountable grief of what losing half of herself brought.

The love her daughter sent into her as she snuffed at her breast left her breathless.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben snapped his head around as a choir of voices raised in unison, they chanted the same chorus in an unrecognizable tongue. He was exposed to many languages and dialects but this was different—it was supernatural!

Luke stood beside him as they gazed into a firmament that connected Mortis to both the universe of galaxies and a world between worlds.

He glanced over his shoulder and was astonished to behold an audience of thousands of Jedi assembled: all staring at him.

The assemblage consisted of those who recently graduated into the Force and those who’d been there for millenia.

The chant crescendoed to resounding silence.

 

Ben turned to Luke and asked,”what were they saying? Why couldn't I understand them?”

 

Luke didn’t respond, only half smirked.

 

With a firm clap to Ben’s shoulder he stated,”You didn't understand them because you don’t belong here...not yet.”

 

Ben’s eyes flitted from Luke to a fissure of light rending in the distance.

 

Luke pointed toward the opening portal with a robed arm,“go back to them—go back to Rey,”he implored.

 

Ben’s eyes widened, tears filling them fast.

 

Referring to The Audience of spectators Luke gestured with his chin,“They’ve partitioned to the Force for clemency on your behalf. Go!”

Luke pushed Ben in the back, thrusting him into the pulsing vortex of white light.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey peeped in on the twins after a much needed shower. O’Wan slept in his bassinet making sucking sounds while her daughter slept quietly on their bed between two pillows.

She really didn’t expect to have two babies but she’d make do—she always did.

Rey’s health improved drastically but she was not quite herself:something inside felt off. She considered going back to Finn and the security of his forces on the lunar rampart: she knew she would always have a home with him. But in honor of Leia’s request she decided to travel to the moon of Onoam in The Naboo System instead.

 

When the First Order’s ground troops had infiltrated their hidden outpost on Dantooine Leia pulled Rey aside and confided about her cousin; an elected Archduke named Selwyn Naberrie. She told Rey that she should contact him in the event anything happened to her. She was nearly three months pregnant at that time, it was a few weeks or so before Leia...   

At that time Rey had disregarded her plea affirming that she didn’t need help.

Leia sternly advised that pride should go out the garbage chute when a child was involved.

Now, with twins, the promise of some assistance—any assistance would be welcomed and appreciated.

They also needed to be examined properly.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey scoured through the bag that Ben packed, arranging every item on the bed beside her: bloodied receiving blankets, miscellaneous baby items, and medical paraphernalia including the life saving oxygen breather mask, she tucked in before leaving.

Her curious hand bumped into an implement that sent icy chills through her blood—her fingers curled around it reluctantly.

She should leave it in there?

Looking upon it would be too unbearable. Too many memories; good and bad were attached to it...

Tears welled as she fished out Ben’s crossguard. She turned it over in her hand sobbing uncontrollably.  She jammed it back in with a bitter huff..

The sharp corner of something nicked her thumb. She plucked out a folded piece of paper and opened it.

The note was a fascinating work of art with its distinctive lettering.

 

She read...

 

**_Rey My Love,_ **

**_I know that there is a part of me that you do not understand._ **

**_Please continue to trust me without understanding._ **

**_The safety of you and our son is my priority._ **

**_You two are all I live for._ **

**_If anything were to happen to me, please proceed to Naboo like we discussed._ **

**_You and our son will be received and loved there; my mother saw to it as soon as she learned you carried my child._ **

**_I named him O’Wan in homage to the Jedi I share my name with, Perhaps he will lend it more justice than I ever could._ **

**_I hope you like it._ **

**_Nothing will ever separate us._ **

**_Not even death._ **

**_Always Yours,_ **

 

**_Ben_ **

 

 

\-----

 

 

The recovery of consciousness came slower than time as Ben’s eyes blinked open to scorching sunlight.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The ink of the paper bled black as Rey’s tears soaked through the rough parchment.

A wailing cry from O’Wan snapped her out of the doldrums of despair.

He flailed through his swaddling, face reddened from the effort.

 

“Shh, I’m here darling,” she hushed. “Let’s get you fed before you wake your sister.”

He burrowed into her breast latching aggressively, gripping her in place with his dimpled fingers. Her mind went on Ben—he also enjoyed sucking on her nipples... in an entirely different way.

She stroked his golden strands against his soft scalp as he suckled. His forehead wrinkled in concentration while he filled his tummy.

O’Wan’s ears, nose and mouth were all Ben’s but she was curious as to where he might have inherited his lighter hair and blue-green eyes from.

A simple answer that pricked at her was the tragic reminder that she never knew who her parents were. Was it conceivable to think that her mother or father could have passed the traits down to their grandchild?

She quirked an ear between the baby’s sucking sounds, she swore she heard her name called.

Rey placed O’wan on her shoulder rubbing at his back gently. She was so burdened with fatigue and exhaustion that there was a possibility that she could have been hallucinating.

 

The words on the letter were bittersweet, she was relieved that there was a place for she and her children but she still couldn't imagine a life without her dearest Ben.

Reality dawned on her that there was nothing that she could do to alter her destiny...it was already set.The Force saw to it.

All she needed to do was to trust the Force and take it one day at a time.

 

 

\-----

 

 

“Rey?” a hoarse voice sighed.

 

Rey bolted awake in the pilot’s chair. She squeezed a knotted crick in her neck. The blue streaks of hyperspace casted a grainy glimmer on the polished console in front of her.

She shot a cursory eye at the Navigational Computer—locked in for The Naboo System.

How long was she out?

She needed to check in on the twins…

 

 

\-----

 

 

O’Wan’s hearty appetite depleted Rey of any extra energy at her disposal: her milk supply was hardly sufficient for one baby as is.

She had gotten her daughter to take a milk substitute through a syringe to supplement her diet but it was not enough for the emaciated infant.

While O’Wan slept soundly with his rounded tummy Rey diapered her daughter.

She gently turned the baby on her side, observing a blood stain above the small of her back.

Rey’s eyes widened-she took a damp cloth to clean the spot...but it didn’t come off.

She bent down to get a closer look and gasped at the circular birthmark.

It was an exact replica of the Mortis Mosaic.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Upon entering Nabooian airspace, the shuttle was immediately flanked by two royal escort starfighters. Selwyn’s cheery welcome chirped through the communique, he was excited to meet his cousin’s grandchildren.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Onoam was an exclusive resort moon, vacation homes were only reserved for Naboo’s wealthier inhabitants.

Rey and the twins were transported to a private medical center in the heart of the city.

Personnel and staff had been forewarned of the delicate circumstance concerning its new patients.

Confidentiality would be championed to the utmost.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The light was blinding and his eyes burned.

Ben glared, shielding his eyes from the heat source with an elbow. He puffed shallow scratchy breaths,feeling like he was placed in a baker’s oven on its highest setting.

Where was he?

Awake?

Asleep?

Alive?

Or dead?

Was it still _too late_ for him?

He coughed through a parched throat, “Rey?” searching with sightless eyes.

He shot up to his feet, eyes still not cooperating.

“Rey!”he groped around him.

Panic caught hold of him, Where was she?

Where was he?

WHAP!!

He slapped himself in the face hard and winced.

He was alive!

He slapped the other side even harder grinning maniacally— just because he was happy that he was alive.

He traced a finger down his cheek, sighing in relief—it was still there!

He tried tapping into the Force but it wasn’t working.

 

He didn’t care if he was blind or if he never used the Force again—he needed to find his family!

 

 

\-----

 

 

“She will recover, give her time,” Tika, a Gungan nurse informed. Rey relaxed against pillows, relieved that her daughter would improve.

She would name her in time, Ben named O’Wan already,she supposed she had no choice in the matter.

A name would be forthcoming as soon as she...

 

_Rey drifted into a dream of she and Ben holding hands. They were alone, united by the Force declaring their love for each other._

_Static electricity fused them together until they were one singular person. It was an unusual dream but felt so real._

 

Rey stirred awake just as a doctor gave O’Wan a stellar health report. He was in the 100th percentile: one of the healthiest babies ever tended to at the facility.

He would remain at the Med-Center until Rey was discharged.

 

To curb his ravenous appetite, O’Wan was given lactose formula on a frequent rotation while Rey rested.

The doctor warned her to be especially careful because she suffered a fair amount of internal tearing and heavy bleeding.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The sting of hot sand whipped at Ben’s face and naked body.

He was naked as the day he was born!

His feet blistered as he trudged through the endless desolation of nothing.

He gallantly fought the dehydration shrivelling his weary body but his knees buckled and he stumbled rolling head first down a dune.

Sand was everywhere. He sat up spitting it out of his mouth and shook it out his hair...he stilled, turning his head around slowly...he was not alone.

An unknown creature cackled madly at Ben’s predicament and it should have embarrassed him but it did not.

 

“Hello?” he said blinking, his sight clearing briefly.

 

The creature spoke in a language he didn’t know but from the pitch of the clicks and husky tones, it should be native to a familiar Inner Rim planet.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Selwyn was a middle-aged man with a handsome face and kind eyes. “There’s no need to worry. You and your children will be well cared for.” He retreated with a courteous smile.

 

“Thank you,” Rey fidgeted with her stiff med-gown. He nodded before leaving.

 

Nurse Tika begged pardon as she brought O’Wan to Rey in deference to an earlier request. She needed to rest but couldn’t bear to be separated from either of her children for any length of time. She cuddled her son to her bosom, studying his pink fingers—sensing the faintest glimmer of hope. Her daughter was having a nappy changed and would join her soon after.

 

“We’re going to be alright,”she whispered, kissing his head. He cooed squinting at his mother, blue eyes swimming with contentment.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben was tossed into a wheeled contraption and a dusty robe thrown in his face.“Wait. Where am I?” he yelled through a hoarse voice.

 

“Jakku! Jedi scum!”

 

An epiphanous expression spread over Ben’s glowing face and his lips curled into a wide crooked grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the story's direction...  
> Suggestions for baby girl Solo's name are welcomed, it may turn up in the next chapter.
> 
> *If you enjoy Reylo babies as much as I do,check out my ficlet "Solo vs Ren"* 
> 
> Thanks again for all of your support!!
> 
> I made a twitter. Click [Here](https://twitter.com/JujuPlumb)


	13. The End Of The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of the comments, kudos and subs!  
> You guys rock!!

 Rey gazed out at the tranquil palette of yellow and pink skies covering Onoam.

The lush countryside was refreshing and ideal for restorative reasons.

She inhaled the sharp scent of pine and spearmint—whisked in from breezes blowing out of the thick coppices surrounding the lake.

 

“Miss, you could catch draft,” Nurse Tika pushed past Rey and shut the gabled window of the master chamber.

 

It had been almost three day cycles since they left the med-center and she should have been resting.

Selwyn had contracted the services of the nurse for Rey and the children and Tika was a competent but short tempered caregiver.

The house was huge and hers for as long as she wanted it. It was one of Four-plus Naberrie manors scattered over various estates on the temperate moon.

The home was comprised of three levels of elegant decor—a deserving artisan’s crowning achievement.

Rey was adamant about moving into the most modest of the estates but was still awestruck by its sheer size and grandeur.

She should have been happy with the wonderful stroke of serendipity the Force offered but it didn’t appease her need for more...for him.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Moonlight filtered in through the metal bars of the prison-wagon.

Ben and five other bipedal creatures were taken to an outpost to be traded in unscrupulously for nothing but a derelict starfighter.

He deduced as much after a fiery exchange between the two impassioned parties growling over their haggles.

Still bound, he waited for an opportunity to make good his escape. His vision had improved enough for him to make out a tentacled carnivore sizing him up as it salivated.

Ben downed the acrid water from a rusty pan and tugged the threadbare hood over his eyes.

Unbothered by the grating snarls that were meant to intimidate. He tried to meditate.

For three entire day cycles he reached out to Rey and the Force but neither responded to him. It seemed that neither cared...

Where were they?

Had they left Mortis and finally made it to Naboo?

So many questions clogged his mind and weighed heavy on his heart.

How was his precious Rey?

How were his children? ** _His children_** —he was a father now!

The longing in his soul to be with his family ached more than anything he had ever experienced in his life.

Had the sarcastic trader called him a Jedi because of the crude torture scars and laser marks that littered his body?

Perhaps, but truth be told, he was no Jedi—not without the Force.

 

_Uncle, hear me_ , he spoke into the void through his mind.

 

He didn’t understand...

Did achieving balance cost him his force abilities?

It shouldn’t have if midichlorians were inherited…

There was a loud THUNK and the doors flew open.

Ben and the creatures were herded out of the hover-wagon and into the coolness of the desert.

The cold crumbly sand irritated his blistered feet and the undersized tunic clung to his body giving him just a shred of dignity.

In the near distance a Y-Wing’s hull gleamed bright in contrast to the darkness of the night sky.

An idea jumped at Ben, it was now or never...

He shut his eyes reaching out directly to the starfighter, bypassing the all encompassing conduit of the Force.

The power flowing out of him seemed to course directly from his veins and out through his fingertips.

Ben raised the ship in the air with relative ease.

His eyes flew open at the remarkable simplicity of the activity and his lip twitched in triumph.

 

It worked!

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ever since Rey and the twins were discharged her little daughter had been crying.

She was not a fussy baby and she was feeding, but for some reason or the other the tiny thing wouldn’t settle.

 

“What’s wrong darling?” Rey massaged her back up and down, growing more desperate by the minute.

The painful  wails ceased instantly, and the nursery was filled with the welcomed sounds of her peaceful cooing instead.

 

“There’s a good girl,”Rey cradled the baby’s head on her shoulder as she sat.

 

She lowered the baby to kiss her forehead when her eyes flickered red then brown again.

Gods no!

Was their daughter to be dark-sider?

The baby gurgled and smiled before her eyes fluttered softly to sleep.

A pulsing heat radiated from the baby's back burning into Rey’s hand beneath it. She turned the infant’s squirming form in her lap and raised the sleeper gown swimming around her teeny body.

The mosaic mark was glowing!

Stars!

What was going on?

 

 

\-----

 

 

The creatures, including the alien trader stood aghast, coughing as sand dust kicked up around them.

They watched helplessly as Ben summoned the spacecraft within inches of his feet. 

Before they could react—he placed a finger on his lips...

 

“Ssh,” the power of his utterance sent all of them into unconsciousness. They fell limply into a tangled pile—not knowing what hit them.

 

Ben’s new powers were mesmerizing and spectacular!

He was drawing its source from somewhere primal and deep within himself.

Somehow his abilities had increased well over one hundred fold and he sensed it strengthening even more.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The Y-Wing whizzed through its star-route but was unable to shift into hyperspace.

Beads of sweat rolled down Ben’s forehead as he maneuvered the stalled spacecraft—suddenly an aimless chunk, drifting into free fall.

Flashing lights and a blaring siren in the cockpit indicated complete system failure and a faulty hyperdrive motivator.

He needed to get to any civilized planet; preferably one that was currently occupied by First Order strongholds.

Without a decent ship that actually worked, it would be impossible to make it to Naboo, Mortis or anywhere else.

 

“Damn it!” he tapped on the busted navi-comp for the system to jump-start but it shorted in a whiff of black smoke.

It jerked, launching the Y-Wing dangerously close to floating space debris.

Ben hammered angry fists on the inoperable console, he was certainly of no use to his family if he was dead.

Focus...he needed to focus.

He quieted his beating heart and reached into the online system with his powers—soldering miles of frayed wires and corroded circuitry.

Electrical energy sparked in the motivator and it spurred to life...

 

“NAVIGATIONAL COMPUTER ONLINE,” flashed! There would be no celebration for him—not just yet.

He needed to strategize a fastidious plan fast, for his imminent reunion to The First Order.

His cloaking abilities would be a favorable asset, he pondered while peering through the streaks of light blue.

Ben keyed in a flight path for the Inner Rim planet of Riosa.

A hidden Imperial fortress remained in the midst of abandoned manufacturing factories, and committed skeleton crews were still stationed there.

Riosa was an infamous industrial planet frequented by Vader himself when both Death Stars were being constructed.

Ben’s agenda however, was totally different from the cold-blooded scheme of his grandfather and The Emperor.

 

As the ship zipped through the hyperlane toward its destination, a faint flare of light curled into his chest.

He stilled with wide eyes as the perceptible force signature seized him.  He placed a hand over his heart whispering,"soon Little One.”

A tear escaped the crinkled corner of his eye and his face beamed with renewed hope.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey ended the transmission with Finn.

They had shared the impactful turns which both of their lives had taken.

Finn expressed his sorrow for Ben’s unfortunate passing and reassured Rey that he would visit her as soon as his mission parameters were complete.

Equipped with the security codes Ben had shared with Finn on the unidentified moon; he and his company of soldiers successfully infiltrated The Destroyer.

They took all of the opposing personnel on board as prisoners—all except for Trooper JT-9099 and twenty other dissident troopers.

She had chosen to be a renegade and jumped at joining his growing battalion with radical enthusiasm.

The general consensus amongst the troops was that one of their own was liberating them: and all credit was due to none other than the Dark Warrior Kylo Ren.

Stormtroopers in that specific quadrant left in droves, abandoning posts and proclaiming their freedom.

As far as they were concerned The Supreme Leader had literally become an atoning martyr overnight.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey inclined an ear to the nursery door—not a babe was astir which was odd because the babies normally slept at different times.

She chewed on a finger, considering whether she should go back and rest or sneak a peek at her beautiful little darlings...

The door panel glowed and Rey gave in, tapping for entry.

Nurse Tika was just laying O’Wan back into his recyclable cot.

He was eating more than three times his body weight in formula now and had gained over five pounds since birth.

The bassinet was already too small for his long limbs.

 

“This one could eat!” Tika tutted, while O’Wan slumbered, licking at his pouty pink lips.

Rey fiddled with his feet as he slept, plump tummy rising and falling in satisfaction.

She tipped over to the egg-shaped cradle her daughter slept in, supplied with oxygen vents to stimulate her stunted growth.

 

“Ma'am, you need rest,” Tika gave Rey a weary glance while adjusting the baby’s oxygen levels. The smudges around her eyes were getting darker.

 

“I can’t. You wouldn’t understand,”she said, shaking her head.

 

Tika eyed Rey with pity, watching as she slumped sluggishly into a rocker in the middle of the room.

Rey propped her chin up with a palm, her forlorn face sagging with tears rushing down.

 

“They’re all I have of him,” she croaked, curling herself into a pathetic ball.

 

 

\-----

 

 

A holo-projection pod flickered on. The elongated visage of Allegiant Pryde glared down at Ben as if he were a mite beneath him that needed crushing.

He was not pleased.

Ben stood stiff-necked before him peering up at the projection—with a restored sense of confidence.

From flowing cape to leather boots, Ben was fully adorned in the Imperial regimentals of Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren.

 

“Our council had convened in your inexcusable absence. And they have given me carte blanche to do as I-see-fit,” he sneered, violently.

 

Ben’s impassive expression went unchanged,"I see. And what have you decided my fate to be General?” he asked coolly.

 

Pryde was beset with his brazen nonchalance. “Treason! Deceit! Desertion!” His sneer intensified as he leaned his virulent face in closer .

**“** YOU FRATERNIZED WITH THE ENEMY! YOU IMPREGNATED THE JEDI!,” he shouted, spewing glops of sputum like a rabid dog.

 

Ben nodded dismissively,“that I did.” His arrogance was frightening.

 

Pryde simmered with the admission that marked his doom. “An elite delegation of Death Troopers are enroute to your location.They have been ordered to kill you on sight.” He paused to rub gloved palms together."But not until they find the Jedi worm and your little verminous spawn.”

 

“No they won’t,” Ben glowered darkly, his lips twitched and nose flared.

 

General Pryde withered, shrinking involuntarily into his seat.

Under the influence of an invisible power Pryde howled in agony, covering his head and face with trembling hands.

 

Ben’s intent was unmistakable. “You will do exactly as I say…” His voice seemed to drag and distort as Pryde was anesthetized by the Force compulsion.

 

Glassy eyes glazed in horror, cowering in defeat,"yes Sir, Supreme Leader.”

 

 

\-----

 

 

The peach glow of Onoam’s rising sun crawled across Rey’s white duvet finally reaching her closed eyes.

She roused in the eerie silence of her bed chamber.

She sensed… She hopped out of bed carelessly stuttering her steps—slowing from the itching discomfort of her healing sutures.

The twins!

What was happening with the twins?

Even with her shields up she sensed an excited energy emanating from the nursery. She had to get there fast.

What if Tika had forgoten to check in on them while she was asleep!

Gods no!

Her babies!

Rey sprinted to the door of the nursery out of breath—she tapped for entry, legs shivering.

The door swished open and she was left stunned and frozen.

Her head spun... eyes closed... and she fell unconscious.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey’s eyelids squinched open slowly, her head nestling comfortably on her fluffed pillow.

Had she been dreaming?

Kriff! It was yet another deceitful dream.

They were becoming rather frequent lately—but this last one felt different. It felt real!

_In her dream Ben was hovering over O’wan’s cot as he slept. He cradled their little daughter in one arm while he ran long fingers over her downy hair._

_His tears of elation flowed freely—then his eyes locked on Rey’s as the door opened._

 

Curse the pain medication! It never failed to send her straight into a woozy lethargic state.

 

But she hadn't taken anything earlier...

 

The heated weight of someone rested on her bed. She shifted from her back onto her side and froze as she stared—confounded by the adoring face of her first love... Ben Solo.

 

“It’s ok,” he whispered, lying on his side propped up on an elbow. He brushed a thumb over her raised eyebrow, taking the confused sight of her in.

“I’m here,” his eyes welled with tears.

Rey trembled, afraid to touch him. Afraid that if she did he would disappear. Her eyes crept over his sunburned face, a shaky finger extended and poked into his high cheekbone,“B..Ben?”

 

He held her finger and brought it to his lips, kissing it three times. He gave a kiss for each sentiment... “Yes love. It’s me. I’m here.”

 

His arms flew open when she pounced on top of him, kissing every inch of his face and neck. She pecked at him in a wild and desperate display of her love and devotion.

Ben’s countenance shone with rapturous completion—he was falling in love with his beautiful scavenger all over again.

 

“Rey!That tickles,” he giggled.

 

“Oh really?” she grinned, continuing her onslaught. She twirled her hips, straddling him as he grinded into her instinctively, his mouth glued in a crooked grin. She kissed a bruising trail up to his lips, while running trembling fingers through his mussed hair.

 

Rey broke her eager affections, staring dumbly into his wet eyes.”How? How are you here?”

 

He was about to answer when her face winced in pain. Steadying her in his arms, he sat up. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

 

Panicked, her hand slipped between her legs and she smiled in spite of herself, “ I...I ripped my stitches!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huggles to every beautiful soul who stuck with me.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the Reylo-coaster!!
> 
> Just the Epilogue left...


	14. Epilogue

**Three Equinox Cycles Pass**

 

The pitter-patter of rain drummed over the roof of their bed chamber, on the luscious countryside of Onoam.

Rey lay her head on Ben’s broad chest, awakening from a rumpled slumber. They played with each other’s fingers: looping, twisting and rubbing them together— like they had just found each other for the first time.

He jerked himself up, kissing her earlobe, then stuck his hot tongue inside suggestively.

 

“Your moustache scratches,” she cupped her tickled ear with a hand.

 

“I thought you said it was sexy,” he smirked, kissing her even harder and intentionally scraping its wiry bristles along her neck.

 

“I said it _looks_ sexy,” she corrected, scrunching her nose up at him. “It needs a trim, along with your hair.” She gestured to his shoulder-length locks.

 

“You weren’t complaining about it last night," he sat them up, nibbling the base of her throat and moaning.

He bounced her onto his lap, thumping her up and down by the waist...“Ah! Ah! Right there... faster Ben faster,” he imitated her sex cries in an exaggerated falsetto.

 

she spanked at his arm in jest,"sometimes you’re so evil,” she grinned, kissing the curled corner of his mouth.

 

His long fingers wondered between her thighs and into her thick curls. She flushed red, gripping his hand,“Ben! We can’t! The children will be up any minute.”

 

“Then we’ll just have to make it quick, won’t we?”he said, as he laid her back, knelt before her and pumped himself vigorously.

 

“Ben!”

 

“Shh. I’ll be quick. Open your legs for me,”he spat in his hand and rubbed it along himself, hissing in anticipation.

 

As his throbbing head entered her with a wet Squelch...

 

“Auntie! Auntie!” a little voice called from behind the door,"O’Wan bit me.”

 

”No I didn’t,” a mini person shouted back.

 

“See. I told you,” she chided, gently pulling her pebbled nipple from between Ben’s lips.

 

He flopped face first into the pillow, punching it in a defeated fury. “Tonight I’d better have you to myself ,” he warned, voice muffling through the abused pillow.

 

She threw on a robe,“I’m coming Paige.”

 

“That’s what I wanted,”he whined, pulling on his slacks.

 

She pointed a threatening finger at him,“behave.”

 

His dark eyes were filled with lust.“Tonight...” he mouthed at her while backing into the fresher.

She nodded, gawking at the bulge slogging to and fro in his pants.

 

By the time Rey unsealed the door she was greeted with two tousled toddlers glaring beady eyes at each other. O’Wan’s plump arms were crossed defiantly over his chest with his lips pinned in a pout.

Finn and Natasha, formerly known as Trooper JT-9099 were on their honeymoon and Rey had agreed to keep Paige for two weeks until they returned. She and O’Wan were not getting along because he saw his cousin as a living, breathing threat to his cherished food supply and his room of toys.

Aayla the calmest of the crew was missing and most likely still asleep. Some days she slept until early afternoon. Ben had named her fittingly after a fellow force sensitive student from Luke’s academy. One whom he greatly respected. When paired together, their sparring sessions usually went on for hour after brutal hour, and she often left smarting bruises as tokens of her cutthroat competitiveness.

Aayla played mediator between the cousins frequently—at least until they wearied her with their endless bickering.

 

“Alright you little ankle biters, let’s get breakfast,”Rey sighed, as the two raced downstairs and into the kitchen for favored spots at the table.

 

 

\-----

 

 

O’Wan was a chubby three year old who had a pension for hissy fits and mood swings, especially when he was hungry. His blue eyes were bright and curious—mostly curious about what his mother or father might be preparing for a meal. Besides food he also loved anything with moving parts and hid toy models of starfighters he and his father had assembled from his little sister.

O’Wan hadn’t displayed any force sensitivity yet but sometimes it seemed that he was instead gifted with gab. He was never quiet; always trying to speak over others— an inherited Skywalker trait for sure.

 

“That’s mine,” Paige cried out as O’Wan swiped fried whilk cakes off of her plate.

 

“Put those back Mr!” Rey scolded.

 

“No, they're mine!”he lied, yelling over her and stuffing them into his mouth.

 

Just then Ben sauntered into the kitchen with a sleepy Aayla resting on his shoulder and holding his ear. “What’s all the noise?” he interrupted the feuding duo.

They dug into their breakfast: one chastening look from Ben always set them straight. “There’ll be no more of that ok,”he said, ruffling O’Wan’s golden waves and pinching Paige’s cheeks.

They nodded silently. Aayla yawned until her jaw clicked, the blue blanket she was once swaddled in as baby hung loosely from her fingers. She was a tiny thing, half the size of her bossy brother.

Doctors said she was healthy but that it was unlikely that she would grow to be more than five feet tall. Ben suspected that her early use of the Force within the womb could have compromised her physical growth somehow.

She was a quiet, affectionate child who loved the outdoors and it was obvious that she and her father were inseparable.

 

“Good Morning darling,”Rey brushed her cheek as Ben sat her on the counter top.

 

“Down you go,”he kissed her dark hair.

 

Rey fiddled with her bushy pigtails,“are you hungry?”

 

“Mhmm,” she nodded with another yawn.

 

Rey and Ben exchanged eager glances, smiling in expectation of what was coming next...It never got old... Aayla flicked her fingers up in a very Benesque manner, levitating her plate of cakes and a cup of blue milk from across the room to a spot beside her.

 

“I’ll watch them,”Ben leaned next to Aayla, beaming with pride as she took a dainty bite of a cake and offered a piece to him.

 

Rey brightened the shading covering the viewport, getting a better view of the rolling hills that disappeared into the horizon.

Rain pelted and she sighed, aware that she would be stuck inside with the rowdy bunch for the rest of the day.

So was the price of motherhood and the choice of a strangely mundane existence...at least for now.

 

 

\-----

 

 

She and Ben had decided to raise their family away from all of the dogmatic influences of bureaucratic regimes.

Ben was instrumental in the dissolution of both The First Order and The Resistance. He influenced the formation of a new symbiant alliance known universally as, _The Galactic_ _Movement_. It was similar to the democratic government of old referred to as, _The Galactic Republic_.

The accord was reached, and all worlds were involved in making the decision with the absence of any recognizable leader at its helm. Ben met peaceably with world leaders on a bi-annual basis to discuss ways the _Movement_ could progress and improve. The initiative was still in the early stages but had proven to be successful thus far.

The audience of Jedi, including Luke and now his grandfather Anakin offered sound counsel whenever he consulted with them. He only did so when a pivotal decision of galactic proportions needed to be made.

Ben’s unique experience with the _Netherworld_ allowed him unrestricted access to the veiled realm that no other mortal ever had.

 

 

\-----

 

 

The clumpty-clack of booted feet stomped in the background. And Rey turned as the three little ones and one big one filed out the back door decked in rain slickers and galoshes.

 

Each little hand held onto the rubber handle of an extendible plastisteel net. “We’re off to look for bugs,” Ben added smugly, holding up an empty jar and shaking it.

 

The three mites toddled behind him along the footpath. Aalya’s tiny feet struggled to keep up with the lot and in an instant she was swiftly scooped up by her father and placed on his strapping shoulders. The bond that he and his daughter shared from the time she was in the womb continued to grow.

 

Rey mouthed to Ben, “wear them out.”

 

He nodded giving her a cocksure grin.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey had just returned to the moon from a general meeting on the desert world of Geonosis. She had met with a small dignified group of Jedi elders to discuss a reformation of _The Order_. She promised them that she would become more involved in a few years... when their baby and his siblings were older.

Her hand fell to her abdomen as she eyed the growing pouch beneath her navel.They had already named him Bail. A name which Leia had suggested to Rey during her first pregnancy.

Though unlikely, Ben was still nervous that little Bail might also have a twin hidden somewhere inside.

 

 

\-----

 

 

In an expansive basement repurposed as a training space, Rey called on the Legacy Saber— _their_  Legacy Saber.

She sat in a meditative pose, still sharp as a laser knife, snatching it with an instinctual swiftness deserving of the Force.

 

“We’re back,”a chorus of voices spilled upstairs.

 

Rey stood to her feet, aided by a storage chest affixed to the wall. She slotted the saber’s hilt in its leather casing, placing it beside Luke’s compass—also kept in a secure binding.

Rey cringed at a dented blaster in the middle of an elaborate display of weapons placed high up on the wall. The demeaned pistol had its own tale to tell…

She never questioned Ben’s decision to keep it after General Hux shortened his own life in a disappointing act of cowardice. His headless torso was discovered immediately following the capture and subsequent incarceration of his superiors.

 

 

\-----

 

 

**That Night**

 

The rhythmic creaking of a bed gave way to the sound of skin slapping hard against wet skin. It reverberated throughout the room until the synchronized gasps of two ragged breaths replaced it.

Ben nuzzled his sweaty head into Rey’s chest, kissing a side of a breast sloppily. He traced lazy circles over her abdomen as his heated panting subsided.

 

She tangled her fingers into his shorter crop, her breath leveling as well,"how was that darling?”she whispered contently.

 

“It was amazing sweetheart, thank you.”He moved down her body, placing three lingering kisses on her belly button,"did I wake him?”

 

She smiled, swiping his silky bang away from his wet brow,“no, of course not.”

 

“Have I told you how much I love you?”he pressed his lips to hers then spooned her from behind.

 

“Yes, everyday…”she hummed, closing her eyes and drifting asleep in his arms.

 

 

\------

 

 

A low squeal jumped Ben awake, he looked over at Rey sound asleep on her side. She’ll need another snuggle pillow again soon, he smiled.

He kissed her on her mussed crown of chestnut hair,then softly on her shoulder—finally he bent to kiss her tummy before sensing...

He pulled on his slacks and a t-shirt... the squealing was louder this time.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Ben made his way down the hall toward O’wan’s room—he peeked his head into... the humorous sight of his dreaming child, tasting and chewing imaginary food.

He swallowed a chuckle, easing the door shut— so grateful to the Force for his healthy boy.

His senses were spiked... the sound belted again and he dashed across the hall and pushed Aalya’s door open...only to find her being tickled by his…

 

“Mother?”

 

“We’re caught!” Leia snickered to Aayla, who stood on the bed in her grandmother’s illuminated arms. She chewed on her bottom lip waiting for her father’s reaction.

 

Ben leaned against the doorframe, drumming fingers across it,“how long?”

 

“Since her birth. I visit my grandson too but he has too much of Han in him... he never sees or hears me,” she muttered sadly.

 

Ben strode over, nodded and bent to kiss Aayla’s forehead as she reached for his right ear. “Mother I—” he spun around searching for Leia but she was gone.

 

His eyes glazed over as he tucked Aayla under the covers.

 

“Tomorrow Father. She’ll be back tomorrow,”she grinned snuggling her blue blanket up under her chin.

 

He wiped a stray tear away and tapped a fingertip to her nose,“then we’ll be waiting, won’t we?”

 

 

\-----

 

 

As Ben entered their chambers, Rey’s half nude body, swollen with their child seized him.

How was it that the Force had blessed him so?

One day he would be worthy of them but until then he vowed to live each day trying his damndest.

Ben slipped between the sheets, and nestled around his precious Rey, breathing her calming essence in and holding her tight.

As his eyes fluttered shut, sleep raptured him into a momentus memory...

 

The one when he and Rey first touched hands...

 

 

\-----

 

 

**The Hut on Ach-To: Before**

 

The cosmic force swirled in and through them as they stared deep into each other’s eyes.

Their fingertips touched and electricity sparked up their arms trembling through their tense bodies.Their fingers slowly laced together as an indescribable attraction blossomed between them.

Ben removed his other glove with his teeth and extended his hand slowly toward Rey—she took it and they shifted closer together.

The force bond expanded until they were both transported into another dimension of space; where the limitation of time no longer existed.

Their breaths escaped as the heat from the Force pushed them into an inevitable embrace. They were overwhelmed with the insatiable urge to join their bodies with one another. Ben’s eyes delved into Rey’s hazel ones, assaulted with images of them naked and tangled and moaning.

They leaned forward simultaneously until hot needy mouths were captured in a wet dance of licentious desire.

Ben tasted the salt from Rey’s tears as he took her bottom lip into his mouth, sucking experimentally.

The Force whirled around them like a magnetic storm, pressing them even closer. They both knew what was expected of them.

Both were nervous but they couldn’t deny the marvelous persuasion from the Force itself... leading them to this new place.

Without hesitation, Rey removed her body wraps and shirt over her head, never breaking his steely gaze. Ben’s eyes drifted to her tight breast bands and he swallowed thickly, as he removed his surcoat.

 

 

\-----

 

 

They stripped out of everything until they were completely naked, exchanging unbroken glances.

They embraced each other again, a primal curiosity leading them to explore the other’s bodies with their hands. No words were uttered as anxious hands roamed freely, caressing backs and arms and hair.

Their minds were adeptly linked, and each knew what the other wanted and desperately needed.

They kissed clumsily at first, Rey lying on top of Ben--he held her against him--his twitching hardness rubbing against her aching warmth.

Her scent of ocean and earth mixed with his spicy aroma became a robust concoction.

His mouth opened as an invitation and she tasted his tongue for the first time--a loud moan rumbled from his chest. Ben took hers with a ferocity as his fingers found a nipple--she whimpered involuntarily and his brows shot up.

 

 _Are you ready?_ He asked through the bond, turning her onto her back—already sure of the answer.

 

His leaky head nudged at her slippery entrance and neither knew how he would fit.

Ben panicked, pulling away and cursing to himself.

 

 _It’s ok Ben,_ she coaxed, rubbing his arm, _lets try again._

 

He slid halfway inside her tight walls ,watching her grimace deepen the further he went in—she gripped his back in place encouraging him to continue.

He grunted as he seated himself fully in her, observant of the tears that escaped her eyes.

They found that they fit together perfectly in everyway:body and soul. Awkward movements melted their heated bodies together as one.

In that moment the Force sealed and espoused one to the other unknowingly.

Ben hissed as his quickening thrusts deepened--hitting a place in Rey that caused her to claw at his buttocks and back in earnest. Without losing rhythm, Ben caught her hands in his, squeezing them until they hurt.

She stared up into his dark eyes partially hidden by wet hair as she whimpered in pleasure-- threatening to tip over. He stole a look at where they were joined, his eyes glued --watching himself whip in and out of her in awe. His eyes trailed back to hers--she came undone in sudden spasmodic tremors around him sending him over the edge to join her.

He fell on top of her instinctually, grunting huffs of completion into the sweat of her neck. “Rey!”he cried as he shuddered up inside her.

 

Would it always be this way with his beloved...

 

 

\-----

 

 

Visions invaded both their minds as he balanced himself back on his elbows to gaze in her eyes. There were no words either could express to describe what had just happened. He pulled his softening length out of her, already mourning the loss of their union.

Ben frowned at the red slick left between Rey’s thigh and smeared on him.

With eyes filled with tears, he kissed her cheek and wrapped himself around her in a tight sticky ball.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Rey lay melded into Ben’s chest, he kissed the top of her head, savouring the tangy scent of their lovemaking. “Why hasn’t the bond closed?”he questioned curiously, pecking at her neck.

 

Rey shrugged, equally baffled by the mystical phenomena. “What do you think this means for us?” she asked, waving an acquisitive finger between she and Ben’s nude bodies.

 

The impact of their coupling and its repercussions rushed over his face and his eyes widened in realization. “I...I don’t know,”he murmured.

 

She stiffened, sat up and turned to face him."What do you mean you don’t know and you’ve just had me?”she snapped.

 

“Well you...you’ve had me too. How am I supposed to know? I’ve never done this with anyone before,” he shot back, his voice an octave higher than normal.

 

“Neither have I,”she sighed, nestling into him and pulling his arms back around her.

 

He nodded, lowering his voice,“Rey, I really believe it means that...that we belong to each other.That I’m yours and you’re mine... forever.”

 

He kissed the back of her neck three times and settled his warm face against her shoulder, shutting his eyes. She brought the back of his hand to her lips and kissed it softly then she turned it over and kissed his palm as well.“Yes,” she agreed.

 

The bond pulsed with new vigor at their pronouncement, remaining opened as a declaration to the galaxies and the universe.

 

The consummation of dark and light was finally complete and the known galaxy had received the gift of two which had become one—by way of the Force.

 

 

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly appreciate all of you Reylo darlings who took the time to read, subscribe, comment and Kudo.
> 
> Hope you had fun reading Galactic Mosaic as much as I did writing it!!  
> I stumbled on Twitter. Come follow me. [@JujuPlumb](https://twitter.com/JujuPlumb)
> 
> Give "Binary Eclipse" a go, if you're craving a similar read...
> 
> Just posted a post TROS ficlet called "Cosmic Arcs-Dual Fates" have a peep...
> 
>  
> 
> *Take care Beautiful Ones*  
> Cant wait for Annette!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks For Reading!!!


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